Gov. Ned Lamont announced that the state’s Clean Slate Law, which erases low-level convictions for individuals who have “remained crime-free” for a specified number of years, will be fully operational come January of 2024, clearing 178,499 offenses for another 80,000 individuals.
The Clean Slate Law was passed in 2021 to remove job, education and housing barriers for those convicted of low-level drug offenses, misdemeanors and low-level felonies. The law was updated in 2023 to include additional convictions for driving under the influence.
Thus far, according to the governor’s press release, 43,754 drug offences, largely related to cannabis, were erased earlier in the year following Connecticut’s legalization of adult-use recreational marijuana. However, the automatic erasure only covers convictions between the years 2000 and 2015; those with convictions outside those dates can be erased by petitioning the court.
“Turning your life around after making a mistake isn’t easy, but many people who’ve been convicted of low-level offenses and haven’t committed any other crimes find those convictions haunting them for decades, sometimes leading to situations in which they are unable to obtain employment, are prevented from finding a place to live, or are denied educational opportunities,” Lamont said in a press release.
However, erasing the past convictions did prove to be an administrative challenge, requiring technology upgrades “that allow criminal justice agencies to identify eligible convictions and then erase them in an automated manner,” according to the press release.
The erasure is expected to be completed by the end of January 2024, however more than 62,000 convictions will require “manual confirmation due to imperfections in the historical data,” which will take place throughout 2024.
“Record erasure does not mean deletion or destruction; instead, erasure causes a record to be flagged for nondisclosure to anyone other than the clerk holding the records,” the press release indicated.
During the 2023 session, the General Assembly added to the Clean Slate Law to include motor vehicle convictions that carry a potential prison sentence, including driving under the influence convictions that are more than 10 years old and the individual has not reoffended. The 2023 update increased the length of time required to have a DUI conviction erased from seven years to ten.
The 2023 law also addressed some concerns about what crimes could be erased under the original Clean Slate law. Older convictions for possessing child pornography, gun transfers, theft of a firearm or criminal possession of a firearm that were at one time were considered misdemeanors and felonies that would have fallen under the Clean Slate law were made ineligible for erasure.
Any sexually violent and nonviolent sexual offenses are also ineligible, as well as family violence convictions.
“The idea that minor crimes should remain a part of someone’s permanent record is outdated, ineffective, and can cause more harm than good. Connecticut’s Clean Slate Law is about removing barriers that prevent people from leading successful and productive lives,” Lamont said.
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