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  1. #1

    Default How to Petition a Court for Order of Erasure for an Adult Criminal Record

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Connecticut

    I was arrested back in 1989 for possession of an eighth of an ounce of marijuana (young and stupid) and failed to realize it would permanently go on my record as a Felony Conviction!

    I heard somewhere that if a previous law was repealed and the offense decriminalized, that I could apply for an erasure of the record. I found this in the Conn General Statutes:

    "Sec. 54-142d. Destruction of record of decriminalized offense. Whenever any person has been convicted of an offense in any court in this state and such offense has been decriminalized subsequent to the date of such conviction, such person may file a petition with the superior court at the location in which such conviction was effected, or with the superior court at the location having custody of the records of such conviction or with the records center of the Judicial Department if such conviction was in the Court of Common Pleas, Circuit Court, municipal court or by a trial justice, for an order of erasure, and the Superior Court or records center of the Judicial Department shall direct all police and court records and records of the state's or prosecuting attorney pertaining to such case to be physically destroyed."

    Unfortunately, I have no money for an attorney. I've searched the web up and down and couldn't find ANY instructions to guide me to "file a petition with the superior court" where the offense was settled, for "an order of erasure" for anything other than a Juvenile matter. Does anyone have any resources of any kind that might help me in completing this process for an adult? I've looked at the option for getting a Pardon, and that would take at least 12 months and require me to get a ton of documents and referrals from acquaintances that I would rather not disclose the stupid mistake in my youth to.

    I truly appreciate any help you could give me. Thank you.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: How to Petition a Court for Order of Erasure for an Adult Criminal Record

    It's a bit tricky to look for old statutes, but I found a case law reference to what appears to be the law at the time of your conviction,
    Quote Quoting Connecticut General Statutes, Sec. 21a-279
    (c) Any person who possesses or has under his control any quantity of any controlled substance other than a narcotic substance, or a hallucinogenic substance other than marihuana or who possesses or has under his control less than four ounces of a cannabis-type substance, except as authorized in this chapter, may be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or be imprisoned not more than one year, or be both fined and imprisoned; and for a subsequent offense may be imprisoned not more than five years, or fined not more than three thousand dollars or be both fined and imprisoned.
    It thus appears that, for your conviction to be a felony, you either had a prior possession charge that triggered the increased penalty, or the conviction was for possession with intent to deliver. Could you please clarify, as possession with intent to deliver very much remains a felony charge. CGS § 21a-277(b).

    Please take note, there's not a prepared form pleading available for every occasion. There's a good chance that a lawyer would have to draft his own pleading to bring a petition for relief under that statute, although you can check criminal law practitioner's guides for your state at the county law library or at an area law school (ask about day pass policies) to see if they include a sample form.

  3. #3

    Default Re: How to Petition a Court for Order of Erasure for an Adult Criminal Record

    I read your response Mr. K, and checking law libraries for preparing a petition to the court is a great idea! As for the original statute you found (which is great to read), I'm not sure what the penal codes were back then (near the height of the drug war) and I haven't found a way to check old penal codes (online) yet. I'm not sure if even with the small amount I possessed , that it wasn't considered a class D Felony back then.

    This was the situation of my arrest: I was riding in a car with a person whom I barely knew. We left a party to go to a local tobacco store to purchase screens for our marijuana pipes (he offered ride, and like an idiot, I accepted). After the screen purchase, the driver, who opened a can of beer and put it on his dashboard (why?!), was pulled over immediately after leaving the parking lot of said tobacco store. The police were waiting across the street. As the driver was asked to exit the vehicle, another officer opened the passenger door and took me out of the car. He had me stand against the car, with my hands out on the car and feet spread apart and he searched my pockets and found the 1/8 ounce of marijuana I had in a jacket pocket (in a single small baggie). The driver was carrying a 1/4 ounce of the same illegal substance. We were both arrested. This was my first (and only) arrest for a controlled substance (unpaid traffic tickets were a separate arrest). 7 years later, I bumped into the person who was driving the car (apparently, his parents had money for a lawyer). He told me that his case was dropped because the police were "staking out the tobacco store" and pulling over cars leaving from there, and that was considered entrapment.

    My public defender told me that he had worked out a "deal" with the prosecutor, and that 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine was the best I was going to get. I was 18, and had no experience with this sort of thing, but I knew that I couldn't do jail time. I went back to court every 4-6 months, to hear the prosecutor offer another "deal" with jail time that my public defender said was a good idea. I declined them all, and after the 5th return visit to the court, my public defender recused himself (quit?) from my case, because he said I was not willing to follow his advice. For the next several years, the prosecutor kept dropping the fine, but wanted some jail time and I refused. Finally, after slightly more than 5 years, the prosecutor offered me a $100 fine and said that he would consider all the times I had been returning to court as my jail time. I jumped at the offer, and thought it was a misdemeanor offense. I only recently found out that it was not a misdemeanor after I had been rejected for many jobs in my field in the last 2 years and ran a Criminal Background check on myself.

    I called the clerks office at the GA courthouse yesterday, where the case was settled (they retrieved the case disposition for me last week), and they told me that I had to contact the Pardons Board and apply for a pardon; that there was no such thing as erasure for a non-juvenile matter. So, I called the Pardons Board and spoke with a supervisor. He said that I would need the case file to prove that I only had an 1/8th of an ounce of marijuana to even consider filing a petition for an order of erasure under the decriminalization of marijuana under a certain amount premise. He also said he had never heard of that being done and knew of no such form to use. The Parole Board supervisor welcomed me to file for a Pardon and giving that what I had told him was true, he said it would almost certainly be granted. Sadly, besides having to admit my stupid mistake to some friends to get a referral letter from them, it would take more than a year for that process to complete.

    It seems my only recourse at this point is to see if the clerk's office at the courthouse can find the case file from 1989. I'm not sure if they are mandated to retain the case file, but something tells me they are not. I was also "advised" that I might try and get the arresting police department to dig through their documents for the arrest record, but I think that would be like asking the sun to stop shining, tomorrow.

    I really appreciate your help Mr. K and if there are any other suggestions you have for me , I’d really like to hear them.

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