breadth of the legislation,<\/a> objecting to certain crimes that would become eligible for expungement.<\/p>\nEventually, the bill signed into law by the governor called on the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee to \u201cconsider a comprehensive policy that provides an avenue for expungement or sealing of records for all or most offenses\u201d except the most serious crimes, such as murder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That process led to H.534 this session.<\/p>\n
Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan said the bill has exceptions that are overly broad for allowing sealed records to be opened. The legislation\u2019s proposals to make sealing more like expungement do not go far enough, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI certainly prefer expungements because it\u2019s better for the Vermonter,\u201d the attorney general said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said some exceptions that would allow for access to the sealed records were concerning. For example, the bill would allow parties for sentencing in criminal cases involving certain crimes to access the sealed records for a number of years.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to give Vermonters certainty,\u201d he said. \u201cI always preferred expungement. I\u2019m certainly also willing to compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grad, the bill\u2019s sponsor, said restrictions placed on access to sealed records in the legislation\u00a0 are tight. \u201cWe really feel like we put in a lot of important protections and guardrails,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has scheduled testimony on the legislation in his committee next week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely see it as a priority, giving people second chances,\u201d he said. \u201cThe real issue is who gets access once you seal it. If you expunge something, it\u2019s gone. If you seal something, it\u2019s not. That\u2019s where we\u2019re going to be spending a lot of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sears said he wanted to make sealing as close to expungement as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
T.N., now 30 and living in Texas, has benefited from having the chance to seal his record.<\/p>\n
He was 19 and living in southern Vermont when he was arrested and later convicted of felonies for his role in a burglary spree. After serving jail time, he said, he tried to move on with his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t get a job,\u201d he said, adding that he eventually landed \u201ccrappy\u201d employment in warehouse jobs. He said for years \u201clabor jobs\u201d was all anyone would hire him for, despite later graduating from college.<\/p>\n
Eventually, T.N. said, he was able to get his record sealed \u2014 with assistance from Vermont Legal Aid \u2014 due to his young age at the time of the offenses. He said he is now working in the tech field as a recruiting coordinator.<\/p>\n
He said he would like to see the process of clearing criminal records in Vermont expanded to help improve the lives of more people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI did it and it changed my life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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