For the Defense - Volume 1, Issue 3 - 2016 - 64

olent third and second degree misdemeanors after remaining arrest-free for seven to ten years.14 Although Senate Bill 391 was passed unanimously in the Senate, it was not brought up for a vote in the House.15 However, more recently, Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf reintroduced Senate Bill 391 as Senate Bill 166.16 The bill was approved, and on February 16, 2016, Governor Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill 166 into law. Senate Bill 166, also known as Act 5, will allow those who have served a sentence for nonviolent third and second degree misdemeanors, or ungraded offenses that carry no more than a two-year penalty, to petition the court to order limited access to those types of criminal records, which will effectively erase the convictions from the general public's view.17 Unlike Senate Bill 391, Senate Bill 166 does not give offenders the ability to expunge their misdemeanor convictions; rather, the law allows offenders to seal certain convictions from the general public. Senate Bill 166 states that a petitioner whose limited access petition is granted will not be required to disclose his or her sealed criminal history records, and custodians of the sealed criminal records will be prohibited from disseminating the records.18 However, sealed criminal records will be available to criminal justice agencies, state licensing agencies for the purpose of issuance of professional and occupational licenses, and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, as well as county children and youth agencies in the performance of their statutory duties.19 A petitioner may file a limited access petition after 10 years have passed since the conviction or final release from confinement or supervision, as long as the petitioner was arrest-free and prosecution-free during the 10-year period.20 The following misdemeanor convictions will not qualify for a limited access order: simple assault (unless it is graded as a misdemeanor of the third degree); sexual intercourse with an animal; impersonating a public servant; intimidation of witnesses or victims; retaliation against witness, victim, or party; intimidation, retaliation or obstruction in child abuse cases; and any offense which requires an individual to register as a sexual offender under Pennsylvania law.21 Additionally, any person who has been convicted of four or more offenses pun- 64 For The Defense | Vol. 1, Issue 3 ishable by imprisonment of one or more years is not eligible for a limited access order.22 Senator Greenleaf advocated for the law by arguing that, in addition to benefitting former offenders, the law would also benefit the state of Pennsylvania alike "by countering high rates of recidivism, relieving an overburdened pardon system, and providing an opportunity for ex-offenders to join our workforce."23 After Senate Bill 166 was passed in the Senate, Senator Greenleaf stated, "It is about time that we allow people who have little or no likelihood of recidivism to return to the population and be individuals who provide a productive life so they can reenter into the workforce and so Pennsylvania can be a stronger State for that purpose."24 Senator Greenleaf further stated that this legislation will "go a long way in saving people's lives" because many who are convicted of low-level misdemeanors "are 18-year-olds or 19year olds who committed a minor offense, and as a result, years later when they try to get jobs, they cannot get jobs, even though they are crime-free and they have never committed a crime before or afterwards."25 Although a sealing order will not be the same as an expungement, sealing orders will be similar to expungements in certain ways. As is the case with an expungement, a petitioner seeking a sealing order must file a petition with the Court of Common Pleas in the jurisdiction where the petitioner was convicted.26 A petitioner must pay a fee of $132 for a petition for a limited access order, which will also be the new fee for an expungement petition when the law goes into effect.27 Additionally, as is the case with expungement petitions, the District Attorney's office is free to object to a petition for limited access, and the court is not required to grant the petition even if all of the requirements for a limited sealing order are met.28 Most importantly, a sealing order will conceal official records of misdemeanor convictions from the general public, similarly to an expungement. Convictions that are ordered sealed will only be disseminated in enumerated situations. In other ways, the sealing law is very different from an expungement. For example, state agencies are prohibited from using annulled or expunged convictions and convictions for which an individ-

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Volume 1, Issue 3 - 2016