In March, three men appealed a Superior Court decision that their previous out-of-state convictions made them ineligible for record clearance in Delaware.
Delaware’s Supreme Court reversed that decision last week, citing lack of access to a comprehensive database of all out-of-state criminal records and Delaware having no control over the accuracy of those records.
ACLU of Delaware Deputy Policy & Advocacy Director John Reynolds says this decision will help speed up the process to help those eligible regain employment, housing and financial opportunities.
“If we try to consider out-of-state records, it would severely negatively impact the implementation of Clean Slate automatic record clearance and make people wait even longer," he said.
Reynolds is referring to the Clean Slate Act, passed in 2021, which will automatically clear eligible low-level felony and misdemeanor convictions between five and ten years old, depending on the charge, starting in August.
Reynolds says there were 290,000 Delawareans eligible for mandatory expungement in 2021, and only 2,000 people had their records cleared last year – the Clean Slate Act will help expedite the process.
In addition to mandatory expungement, Reynolds says this decision will also reduce barriers for those applying for discretionary record clearance.
“Out-of-state records will still be able to be considered when deciding whether or not to grant a discretionary expungement, but they won’t, as they had previously until this decision, bar someone from even applying in the first place.”
Reynolds says out-of-state convictions will remain on someone's record after expungement in Delaware — if they wish to clear their record of those state-specific charges or convictions, they will have to navigate that state's expungement process.
