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"ALBANY ⁠- Ahead of a legislative hearing Tuesday on the sealing of some criminal records, activists are launching a new campaign proposing to automatically wipe a person's record clean of certain crimes. New York does not allow for the expungement of criminal records, but a two-year-old law permits some individuals to seal files for certain crimes after a decade has passed since a person's sentencing or the end of their prison term. Advocates behind the new campaign, called Clean Slate New York, argue that the law is underused and does not help reintegrate convicted criminals back into society, stripping them of employment, housing and other opportunities. \"Under our current legal structure, the stigma of a criminal conviction ⁠- no matter how minor ⁠- can haunt an individual decades after they have served their time,\" David Condliffe, the executive director of the Center for Community Alternatives, one of the leaders of the new campaign, said in a statement concerning the upcoming hearing. \"If New Yorkers are truly committed to implementing restorative justice, enhancing public safety and strengthening the economy, automatic expungement must be enshrined in law.\" Organizations leading the new initiative include the Legal Action Center, Community Service Society of New York, New Yorkers United for Justice and The Legal Aid Society. Advocates want to enact legislation to automatically clear records of eligible convictions, instead of placing the onus on individuals to apply to seal records. Under current law, a person is eligible to apply to seal up to two records if at least 10 years have passed since their sentencing or release from prison and if they have no recent convictions or pending charges - and then a judge will decide whether to grant the application depending on the circumstances of an individual case. Some crimes are not eligible for sealing, including most violent offenses and sex crimes. Still, less than 1 percent of New Yorkers eligible for record sealing have utilized the law, according to coalition leaders: \"Fewer than 2,500 individuals statewide have made it through this court-based, personnel-heavy, lawyer-driven process since the law passed two years ago,\" Community Service Society General Counsel Judith Whiting said in a statement. Advocates argue that the lack of opportunity for expungement in New York inhibits people from reintegrating into society. Having a criminal record can negatively impact job or housing applications, especially for people of color who have historically been unfairly targeted by law enforcement, activists say. \"No one should have to suffer the daily consequences of an old mistake, one which does not define who they are,\" said Tina Luongo, the attorney-in-charge of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society wrote in a statement. The campaign will officially launch on Tuesday, the same day as a state Assembly hearing in New York City discussing \"the reasons why more people have not been able to benefit from the sealing provisions and consider ways to improve and potentially expand the laws,\" the hearing notice states. Similar \"Clean State\" campaigns have succeeded over the past year in Pennsylvania and Utah, mostly winning over Democratic lawmakers. Democrats now hold trifecta control of the New York state government after the state Senate gained a blue majority this year for the first time in a decade. The new Democratic majority helped pass a series of sweeping criminal justice reforms in the spring, which are set to go into effect next month. Among the changes is an overhaul of the state's cash bail system, eliminating the use of money bail and pretrial detention for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, which has recently drawn bipartisan pushback from Republican lawmakers and Democratic district attorneys."
<https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Activists-push-for-expunging-certain-criminal-14891339.php>