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ALLEGHENY COUNTY OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER Expungement Process Guide JUNE 1

ALLEGHENY COUNTY OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER Expungement Process Guide JUNE 13, 2019 ALLEGHENY COUNTY OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER County Office Building, Room 400, 542 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Content within this guide is designed to inform and not to advise. Statements are based on PA law. Individual facts in a given case may alter their application or involve other laws not referred to in this guide. This guide applies to petitioning for charges that occurred in Allegheny County only. 1 Table of Contents EXPUNGEMENT SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 2 EXPUNGEMENT ELIGIBILITY .................................................................................................................... 3 Charges with No Conviction ..................................................................................................................... 3 Charges with Convictions ......................................................................................................................... 3 PROCEDURES ............................................................................................................................................. 4 PROCEDURES - STEP ONE: OBTAIN A BACKGROUND CHECK ....................................................... 4 Request Access and Review Background Check Online ......................................................................... 4 Request Access and Review Background Check by Mail ........................................................................ 6 PROCEDURES - STEP TWO: FILE PETITION FOR EXPUNGEMENT ................................................. 7 Full Expungement of Charges .................................................................................................................. 8 Full Expungement Petition Packet Checklist ........................................................................................ 8 Partial Expungement of Charges .............................................................................................................. 8 Partial Expungement Packet Checklist ................................................................................................ 8 Limited Access Expungements ................................................................................................................ 9 Limited Access Expungement Packet Checklist .................................................................................. 9 Expungement of Summary Charges ...................................................................................................... 10 Expungement of Summary Charges Packet Checklist ...................................................................... 10 PROCEDURES – STEP 3: WAIT FOR AND RECEIVE EXPUNGEMENT ORDER.............................. 11 Clean Slate Law ......................................................................................................................................... 12 Content within this guide is designed to inform and not to advise. Statements are based on PA law. Individual facts in a given case may alter their application or involve other laws not referred to in this guide. This guide applies to petitioning for charges that occurred in Allegheny County only. 2 EXPUNGEMENT SUMMARY All criminal and summary court cases, including those that do not result in convictions, are available online for public viewing and may appear in the results of a criminal history background check. An expungement is a legal order that makes certain criminal records unavailable to the public and restricts access to law-enforcement agencies. Some people are eligible to have their criminal records expunged, or deleted, from criminal record searches. Having a criminal record expunged means that the expunged offense(s) will not appear in a Pennsylvania state criminal background check conducted by an employer or landlord. Note that third-party websites and agencies, such as credit agencies, may have already obtained access to the criminal record and could release the information. Even if the full criminal record is expunged from public agency records, an Order of Expungement may be needed to prove to potential employers that the criminal records have been expunged. Also, in addition to other criteria describes in this document, all outstanding fines and cost must be paid in full to be eligible for an expungement. Only certain, first-time, non-violent crimes are eligible to be expunged. There are four types of expungements: 1. Full, 2. Partial, 3. Limited Access, and 4. Summary Charges The type of expungement depends on the specific details and disposition of the charges, which is explained in the PROCEDURES - STEP TWO: FILE PETITION FOR EXPUNGEMENT section of this guide. To have a record expunged, a background check from the State Police is required and must be filed with a petition for expungement in the Allegheny County Department of Court Records, Criminal Division. After the petition for expungement is filed, the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County will determine whether to grant an Order of Expungement. This guide walks through the details of each step in the expungement process. Most people use a lawyer to assist them with this process. Note: fees listed are as of 5/23, please contact Court Records for up-to-date fees at 412-350-3271. STEP ONE: Obtain Background Check from State Police ($22 fee) STEP TWO: Petition the Court for Expungement ($232 fee per case) STEP THREE: Wait for Order of Expungement to be issued Content within this guide is designed to inform and not to advise. Statements are based on PA law. Individual facts in a given case may alter their application or involve other laws not referred to in this guide. This guide applies to petitioning for charges that occurred in Allegheny County only. 3 EXPUNGEMENT ELIGIBILITY Charges with No Conviction In Pennsylvania, charges that do not result in a conviction are eligible for expungement. This includes non-conviction charges with the following disposition:  Withdrawn  Dismissed  Nolle Prossed (or nolle prosequi1).  Disposition Unreported  Final Charge  Offenses you were not convicted of (Not Guilty after trial)  Summary Offenses (no arrests or conviction for 5 years)  Probation Without Verdict  Convictions for those 70+ with a 10-year arrest-free period  Juvenile Records Persons who complete the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program are eligible to have their record expunged. To qualify, the individual must:  be a first-time offender,  have paid all fines and costs, and  have successfully completed all terms and conditions of the program. For persons completing ARD after 1990, the Allegheny County Department of Adult Probation automatically files to have those records expunged. A person who completed ARD prior to 1990 is eligible but must file a motion to expunge. Persons who receive Probation Without Verdict (PWV) are eligible if they are a first-time offender. The Allegheny County Department of Adult Probation will automatically file for expungement when all fines and costs have been paid, and the defendant successfully completes all of the terms and conditions of the program. Expungements are not automatic for Allegheny Service Institute (ASI) programs. The individual who completes the program must file a motion to expunge. Also, all outstanding court cost and fees must be paid prior to requesting an expungement. Charges with Convictions Charges that resulted in a conviction are eligible for expungement if one of the following conditions is present: 1 The Latin term nolle prosequi means the prosecutor was unwilling to pursue the case, so the charges were dropped. Content within this guide is designed to inform and not to advise. Statements are based on PA law. Individual facts in a given case may alter their application or involve other laws not referred to in this guide. This guide applies to petitioning for charges that occurred in Allegheny County only. 4  The conviction is a summary offense and the individual has not been arrested for five or more years. Common summary offenses include disorderly conduct, simple trespass, public consumption of alcoholic beverages and retail theft (if it is the first offense and the value of the merchandise is less than $150);  The individual is over the age of 70 and has not been arrested for 10 or more years;  The subject of the expungement petition has been dead for three more years; or  The individual receives a pardon from the governor for a conviction. Charges that resulted in a conviction that are not eligible for expungement are:  All Felony charges  All Misdemeanor charges (except for certain misdemeanors – refer to the Limited Access Expungements section for further details) PROCEDURES PROCEDURES - STEP ONE: OBTAIN A BACKGROUND CHECK This section provides instruction on how to obtain an “Access and Review Background Check” from the Pennsylvania State Police. A copy of the Access and Review Background Check is needed for petitioning the Court for an expungement. The Access and Review Background Check is only valid for 60 days, so the Petition for Expungement must be filed within 60 days of receiving the Access and Review Background Check. There are two methods for requesting the Access and Review Background Check: (1) Online Request: The Pennsylvania State Police has an online application called “Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History,” (PATCH). (2) By mail: The Pennsylvania State Police will accept a completed Review and Access Background request via US mail. Request Access and Review Background Check Online Step #1: Go to https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jsp Note: The $22 fee is subject to change. Content within this guide is designed to inform and not to advise. Statements are based on PA law. Individual facts in a given case may alter their application or involve other laws not referred to in this guide. This guide applies to petitioning for charges that occurred in Allegheny County only. 5 Step #2: Select the “Submit a New Record Check” button (see screenshot below) Step #3: After accepting the Terms and Conditions for the use of PATCH, select the “Individual Request” option, then click “Continue.” (see screenshot below) Content within this guide is designed to inform and not to advise. Statements are based on PA law. Individual facts in a given case may alter their application or involve other laws not referred to in this guide. This guide applies to petitioning for charges that occurred in Allegheny County only. 6 Step #4: The website will ask for information relating to the requestor, including reason for request, first and last name, address, and phone number of the person making the request. Note: the requestor is the person with the charges. Step #5: The website will then ask for information on the person the background check will uploads/Litterature/ allegheny-county-office-of-the-public-defender-expungement-process-guide.pdf