[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 61 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 61
To provide for the expungement and sealing of youth criminal records,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2017
Ms. Jackson Lee introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the expungement and sealing of youth criminal records,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Chance for Youth Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. YOUTH SEALING AND EXPUNGEMENT.
(a) In General.--Chapter 229 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``SUBCHAPTER D--EXPUNGEMENT AND SEALING OF YOUTH CRIMINAL RECORDS
``Sec.
``3631. Youth Offense Expungement and Sealing Review Board.
``3632. Expungement and sealing for youth.
``3633. Definitions.
``3634. Reporting.
``Sec. 3631. Youth Offense Expungement and Sealing Review Board
``(a) In General.--The Chief Judge for each Federal District shall
establish--
``(1) a Youth Offense Expungement and Sealing Review Board
(hereinafter in this section referred to as the `Review Board')
to review petitions for discretionary expungement and sealing
of youth offenses; and
``(2) the rules and procedures governing the operation of
the Review Board in the exercise of its powers under subsection
(c).
``(b) Composition.--The Review Board shall include one
representative, selected by the Chief Judge to serve without
compensation, from each of the following:
``(1) The Department of Justice.
``(2) The United States Probation and Pretrial Services
System.
``(3) The Office of the Federal Defender or a designated
Criminal Justice Act panel attorney or private criminal defense
attorney.
``(c) Powers.--The Review Board shall--
``(1) review petitions under this subchapter to determine
whether the youth, and the offense on which the petition is
based, meet the eligibility requirements for expungement or
sealing consideration;
``(2) for petitions meeting the eligibility requirements,
evaluate those petitions on the merits in order to make a
recommendation on the advisability of granting the petition;
and
``(3) convey its recommendation, with a written
explanation, to the Chief Judge in each Federal District, or a
designee of the Chief Judge, for consideration.
``(d) Recommendation.--In making its recommendation, the Review
Board--
``(1) shall consider all the evidence and testimony
presented in the petition and any hearings held on the
petition;
``(2) may not consider any arrest or prosecution that did
not result in a conviction and that took place prior to the
conviction or arrest the petitioner is seeking to expunge or
seal; and
``(3) shall balance--
``(A) the public safety, the interest of public
knowledge, and any legitimate interest of the
Government in maintaining the accessibility of the
protected information; against
``(B) the interest of the petitioner in having the
petition granted, including the benefit to the
petition's ability to positively contribute to the
community, and the petitioner's conduct and
demonstrated desire to be rehabilitated.
``(e) Court To Consider and Decide Upon Petitions.--The Court shall
consider and decide upon each petition for which the court receives a
recommendation from the Review Board. The Court's decision to grant or
deny the petition shall give significant weight to the Review Board
recommendation. The Court shall grant the petition unless the
Government shows the interests described in subsection (d)(3)(A)
outweigh the interests of the petitioner described in subsection
(d)(3)(B).
``(f) One Opportunity.--A youth may only file a petition for
expungement or sealing under this subchapter once and the decision of
the district court on the petition shall be final and is not
appealable.
``(g) Online Forms for Petitions.--The Director of the
Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall create and make
available to the public, online and in paper form, a universal form to
file a petition under this section, and establish a process under which
indigent petitioners may obtain a waiver of any fee for filing a
petition under this section.
``(h) Making Available Standard Forms for Court Orders.--The
Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall
create and make available to the Chief Judge of every Federal district
standard expungement and sealing orders that empower the petitioner to
seek destruction of records in accordance with the order.
``Sec. 3632. Expungement and sealing for youth
``(a) Expungement Petition Eligibility.--A youth may petition a
district court of the United States for expungement--
``(1) of the record of any misdemeanor or nonviolent felony
drug conviction 3 years after the youth has completed every
term of imprisonment related to that misdemeanor or nonviolent
felony drug conviction;
``(2) of the record of any person who has not attained the
age of 18 at the time of committing the conduct resulting in
conviction for any misdemeanor or nonviolent offense 3 years
after the person has completed every term of imprisonment
related to that misdemeanor or nonviolent offense conviction;
and
``(3) of the record of an arrest or prosecution for any
nonviolent offense on the date on which the case related to
that arrest or prosecution is disposed of.
``(b) Sealing Petition Eligibility.--A youth may petition a
district court of the United States, for sealing--
``(1) of the record of any nonviolent conviction 5 years
after the youth has completed every term of imprisonment
related to that nonviolent conviction;
``(2) of the record of any person who has not attained the
age of 18 at the time of committing the conduct resulting in
conviction for any offense 10 years after the person has
completed every term of imprisonment related to that offense
conviction; and
``(3) of the record of an arrest or prosecution for any
nonviolent offense on the date on which the case related to
that arrest or prosecution is disposed of.
``(c) Notice of Opportunity To File Petition.--A youth shall be
informed of the eligibility to, procedures for, and benefits of filing
an expungement or sealing petition--
``(1) by the District Court on the date of conviction;
``(2) by the Office of Probation and Pretrial Services on
the date the youth completes every term of imprisonment; or
``(3) if the arrest or prosecution does not result in a
conviction, then by the Department of Justice on the date the
case is disposed of.
``(d) Grant of Petition.--If a court grants a petition under this
section--
``(1) the person to whom the record pertains may choose to,
but is not required to, disclose the existence of the record,
and the offense conduct and any arrest, juvenile delinquency
proceeding, adjudication, conviction, or other result of such
proceeding relating to the offense conduct, shall be treated as
if it never occurred;
``(2) the court shall destroy each paper and electronic
copy of the record in the possession of the court;
``(3) the court shall issue an expungement or sealing order
requiring the destruction of any paper and electronic copies of
the record by any court, law enforcement officer, law
enforcement agency, treatment or rehabilitation services
agency, or employee thereof in possession of those copies;
``(4) any entity or person listed in paragraph (3) that
receives an inquiry relating to the record shall reply to the
inquiry stating that no such record exists; and
``(5) except as provided in subsection (f), no person shall
not be subject to prosecution under any civil or criminal
provision of Federal or State law relating to perjury, false
swearing, or making a false statement for failing to
acknowledge the record or respond to any inquiry made of the
petitioner or the parent relating to the record, for any
purpose.
``(e) Civil Actions.--
``(1) In general.--If an individual who has a record
expunged or sealed under this section brings an action that
might be defended with the contents of the record, there shall
be a rebuttable presumption that the defendant has a complete
defense to the action.
``(2) Showing by plaintiff.--In an action described in
paragraph (1), the plaintiff may rebut the presumption of a
complete defense by showing that the contents of the record
would not prevent the defendant from being liable.
``(3) Duty to testify as to existence of record.--The court
in which an action described in paragraph (1) is filed may
require the plaintiff to state under oath whether the plaintiff
had a record and whether the record was expunged or sealed.
``(4) Proof of existence of record.--If the plaintiff in an
action described in paragraph (1) denied the existence of a
record, the defendant may prove the existence of the record in
any manner compatible with the applicable laws of evidence.
``(f) Attorney General Nonpublic Records.--The Attorney General
shall--
``(1) maintain a nonpublic database of all records expunged
or sealed under this subchapter;
``(2) disclose, access, or utilize records contained in the
nonpublic database only--
``(A) in defense of any civil suit arising out of
the facts contained in the record;
``(B) to determine whether the individual to whom
the record relates is eligible for a first-time-
offender diversion program;
``(C) for a background check that relates to law
enforcement employment or any employment that requires
a Government security clearance; or
``(D) if the Attorney General determines that
disclosure is necessary to serve the interests of
national security; and
``(3) to the extent practicable, notify the individual to
whom the record pertains of the disclosure unless it is made
pursuant to paragraph (2)(D).
``Sec. 3633. Definitions
``In this subchapter--
``(1) the term `youth' means an individual who was 21 years
of age or younger at the time of the criminal offense for which
the individual was arrested, prosecuted, or sentenced;
``(2) the term `nonviolent felony' means a Federal criminal
felony offense that is not--
``(A) a crime of violence; or
``(B) a sex offense (as that term is defined in
section 111 of the Sex Offender Registration and
Notification Act);
``(3) the term `record' means information, whether in paper
or electronic form, containing any reference to--
``(A) an arrest, conviction, or sentence of an
individual for an offense;
``(B) the institution of juvenile delinquency or
criminal proceedings against an individual for the
offense; or
``(C) adjudication, conviction, or any other result
of juvenile delinquency or criminal proceedings;
``(4) the term `expunge'--
``(A) means to destroy a record and obliterate the
name of the person to whom the record pertains from
each official index or public record; and
``(B) has the effect described in section 3631(g),
including--
``(i) the right to treat an offense to
which an expunged record relates, and any
arrest, juvenile delinquency proceeding,
adjudication, conviction, or other result of
such proceeding relating to the offense, as if
it never occurred; and
``(ii) protection from civil and criminal
perjury, false swearing, and false statement
laws with respect to an expunged record;
``(5) the term `seal'--
``(A) means--
``(i) to close a record from public viewing
so that the record cannot be examined except by
court order; and
``(ii) to physically seal the record shut
and label the record `SEALED' or, in the case
of an electronic record, the substantive
equivalent; and
``(B) has the effect described in section 3631(g),
including--
``(i) the right to treat an offense to
which an expunged record relates, and any
arrest, juvenile delinquency proceeding,
adjudication, conviction, or other result of
such proceeding relating to the offense, as if
it never occurred; and
``(ii) protection from civil and criminal
perjury, false swearing, and false statement
laws with respect to an expunged record;
``(6) the term `conviction'--
``(A) means a judgment or disposition in criminal
court against a person following a finding of guilt by
a judge or jury; and
``(B) for the purposes of this section--
``(i) multiple convictions shall be deemed
to be one conviction if the convictions result
from or relate to the same act or acts
committed at the same time; and
``(ii) multiple convictions, not to exceed
3, that do not result from or relate to the
same act or acts committed at the same time
shall be deemed to be one conviction if the
convictions result from or relate to the same
indictment, information, or complaint, or plea
of guilty; and
``(7) the term `destroy' means to render a file unreadable,
whether paper, electronic, or otherwise stored, by shredding,
pulverizing, pulping, incinerating, overwriting, reformatting
the media, or other means.
``Sec. 3634. Reporting
``Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this
subchapter, and each year thereafter, the Attorney General shall issue
a public report that--
``(1) describes--
``(A) the number of expungement and sealing
petitions granted and denied; and
``(B) the number of instances in which the office
of a United States attorney supported or opposed an
expungement or sealing petition; and
``(2) includes any supporting data that the court
determines relevant but does not name any petitioner.''.
SEC. 3. RETROACTIVE EFFECT.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act apply with respect to
youth without regard to whether they become involved in the Federal
criminal justice system before, on, or after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
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