Expungement of Federal Convictions
By Todd Duncan
Legislation Introduced to Allow Expungement of Federal Convictions
On March 16, 2009, Congressman Charles B. Rangel [D-NY] sponsored and introduced "The Second Chance for Ex-Offenders Act of 2009" [HR 1529] which would permit expungement of records of certain nonviolent criminal offenses. The Act would amend the federal criminal code to allow an individual to file a petition for expungement of a record of conviction for a nonviolent criminal offense if such individual has: (1) never been convicted of a violent offense and has never been convicted of a nonviolent offense other than the one for which expungement is sought; (2) fulfilled all requirements of the sentence of the court in which conviction was obtained; (3) remained free from dependency on or abuse of alcohol or a controlled substance for a minimum of one year and has been rehabilitated, to the court's satisfaction, if so required by the terms of supervised release; (4) obtained a high school diploma or completed a high school equivalency program; and (5) completed at least one year of community service.
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