Berks Barrister Summer 2019 - 14

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THE CLEAN SLATE ACT
INTRODUCES AUTOMATIC RECORD
SEALING FOR MANY MISDEMEANOR
CONVICTIONS

ften individuals contact our office and inquire whether
the respective individual's misdemeanors can be
expunged. Almost always, we must answer in the
negative. Even though these people paid their debt to society,
public records of these misdemeanor convictions are accessible
to employers, landlords and the general public for decades. For
many, career opportunities, housing opportunities, educational
pursuits, etc., are curtailed by the stain of an old conviction on an
individual's criminal record.

In order to aid people who find themselves in this position,
the Limited Access Law became effective in 2016. The Limited
Access Law required petitioning the courts to seal misdemeanor
convictions. The result of sealing would be a limit on who can
view the criminal record related to certain misdemeanors. On
June 28, 2019, the Clean Slate Act became effective which will
result in the automatic sealing of many misdemeanors without the
need to file a petition.
On December 26, 2016, Act 5 of 2016 (the "Limited Access
Law") became effective which offered petition-based sealing. The
Limited Access Law allows an individual with a misdemeanor(s)
of the second-degree (excluding Simple Assault) or third-degree
to have his/her record sealed. Under the Limited Access Law, the
individual is required to file a petition and have it granted in order
to have his/her criminal record sealed allowing for limited access
after ten years of having no other convictions and no pending
or open cases. Access as to who could still see the record would
be limited to law enforcement, employers required to do federal
background checks, licensing agencies and a party obtaining a
court order.
Beginning June 28, 2019, new legislation has become
effective to automate the sealing of records without a petition.
Approximately 30 million criminal cases of the 60 million
criminal cases became eligible for automated computer sealing
pursuant to Pennsylvania's Clean Slate Act, 18 Pa.C.S.A. §
9122.2 ("Clean Slate") according to Governor Tom Wolf 's
Administration. Clean Slate is the first of its kind in the country.
Under Clean Slate, a computer system has been created that will
automatically seal certain eligible and qualifying criminal records
after a set period of time without the need to file a petition.

14 | Berks Barrister

Pursuant to Clean Slate, summary convictions, ungraded
misdemeanors and second-degree or third-degree misdemeanors
(including any inchoate crimes involved with a conviction of the
before-mentioned types of crimes) will be sealed automatically
from public databases so long as the person remained conviction
free for 10 years following the end of his/her sentence or
probation term and has satisfied all court-ordered financial debt.
Petitioning a court to seal or limit access to records is no longer
required.

Only eligible misdemeanors are scheduled for automatic
sealing. Convictions involving any violent crime listed in Article
B of Pennsylvania's Crimes Code, crimes against the family
found in Article D of the Crimes Code, firearms convictions, any
sexually based offense that requires registration under SORNA,
cruelty to animals, corruption of minors and any inchoate crime
to complete any of these aforementioned crimes are disqualified
for sealing. Also disqualified are any misdemeanor convictions
arising from the same set of facts as a first-degree misdemeanor or
higher conviction. Additionally, now, unlike the Limited Access
Law, some first-degree misdemeanors are eligible for sealing upon
the petitioning of the Court.
Clean Slate expands sealing to include some qualified firstdegree misdemeanors and any inchoate criminal convictions
involved in the conviction are eligible for sealing. The process,
however, is not automatic. Instead, an individual with a firstdegree misdemeanor conviction will have to file a petition with
the Court requesting that the record be sealed. To petition,
download the Petition for Limited Access form found on the
website of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts
("AOPC").

Similar to the second- and third-degree misdemeanors, not
all first-degree misdemeanors are eligible for sealing under Clean
Slate. Disqualified crimes include the same excluded crimes as
second- and third-degree misdemeanors.
Upon sealing of a record, an individual need not disclose to
employers, landlords, etc., the misdemeanor conviction which
has been sealed. This is of great benefit to those seeking either
employment or rental property. If an employer or landlord asks
whether an individual has a criminal record, an individual can

Berks Barrister Summer 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Berks Barrister Summer 2019