Reference is to Printer's Date 3/29/17-H.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding an appropriately numbered SECTION to read:
/ SECTION ___. Section 17-22-950 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 255 of 2016, is further amended to read:
"Section 17-22-950.
(A) If criminal charges are brought in
a summary court, the accused person is found not guilty or the
charges are dismissed or nolle prossed, and
whether or not the accused person was fingerprinted for
the charges, the summary court, at no cost to the accused
person, immediately shall issue an order to expunge the criminal
records, including any associated bench warrants, of the accused
person unless the dismissal of the charges occurs at a
preliminary hearing or the accused person has charges pending in
summary court and a court of general sessions and the charges
arise out of the same course of events. Upon issuance of the
order, the summary court shall obtain and verify the presence of
all necessary signatures and provide copies of the completed
expungement order to all governmental agencies which must
receive the order, including, but not limited to, the arresting
law enforcement agency; the detention facility or jail; the
solicitor's office; the clerk of court, but only in cases in
which the charges were appealed to the circuit court or remanded
to the summary court from general sessions court; the summary
court where the arrest or bench warrants originated; the summary
court that was involved in any way in the criminal process of
the charges or bench warrants; and SLED.
(B) If criminal
charges are brought in a summary court, the accused person is
found not guilty or the charges are dismissed or nolle prossed,
and the person was not fingerprinted for the charges, the
accused person may apply to the summary court, at no cost to the
accused person, for an order to expunge the criminal records,
including any associated bench warrants, of the accused person
unless the dismissal of the charges occurs at a preliminary
hearing or the accused person has charges pending in summary
court and a court of general sessions and the charges arise out
of the same course of events. Upon application, and after
verification that the charges are appropriate for expungement,
the summary court shall issue an order to expunge the criminal
records, obtain and verify all necessary signatures, and provide
copies of the completed expungement order to the arresting law
enforcement agency and all summary courts that were involved in
the criminal process of the charges. The summary court is not
required to provide copies of the completed expungement order to
SLED Persons subject to the provisions of subsection
(A) who were accused of an offense before the effective date of
this section requiring an immediate order to expunge criminal
records may apply to the appropriate summary court with
jurisdiction over the offense for an order expunging their
criminal records at any time.
(C) An expungement
pursuant to this section must occur no sooner than the appeal
expiration date and no later than thirty days after the appeal
expiration date.
(D) A summary court
shall provide a copy of a completed expungement order issued
pursuant to this section to the applicant or the applicant's
counsel of record. The copy must be certified or marked with the
court's raised seal.
(E) Criminal charges
must be removed pursuant to this section from all Internet-based
public records no later than thirty days from the disposition
date, regardless of whether the accused person applies to the
summary court for expungement pursuant to subsection (B). All
other criminal records must be destroyed or retained pursuant to
the provisions of Section 17-1-40.
(F) A prosecution or
law enforcement agency may file an objection to a summary court
expungement. If an objection is filed, the expungement must be
heard by the judge of a general sessions court. The
prosecution's or law enforcement agency's reason for objecting
must be that the accused person has other charges pending or the
charges are not eligible for expungement. The prosecution or law
enforcement agency shall notify the accused person of the
objection. The notice must be given in writing at the most
current address on file with the summary court, or through the
accused person's attorney, no later than thirty days after the
accused person is found not guilty or the accused person's
charges are dismissed or nolle prossed.
(G) The Office of Court
Administration shall provide uniform application forms to be
used for expungements pursuant to this section."
/
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.