Delaware General Assembly

Signed 9/6/16

The General Assembly has ended, the current status is the final status.

6/10/16

Townsend

Sen. Blevins
Reps. J. Johnson, Longhurst

Sen. Bonini, Cloutier, Hall-Long, Lawson, Marshall, McDowell, Peterson, Pettyjohn, Richardson
Reps. Baumbach, Bolden, Lynn, Matthews

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO JUVENILE EXPUNGEMENTS.

The continued existence and dissemination of juvenile criminal histories hampers an individual’s ability to be successful and a productive member of society. These criminal histories are a hindrance to employment, education, housing and credit. It is often difficult for indigent children, especially children in foster care, to overcome the hurdles required to obtain an expungement. Children are often unable to pay the fee required to obtain a criminal history from SBI. Children also do not have the knowledge or support to obtain documentation and file the petition as required by the current statute.This act streamlines the process of mandatory expungements by easing some of the cumbersome requirements currently in place. This change will save the Court time and resources and is in the interest of judicial economy. This change is also in the best interests of the child who may lack the resources, knowledge, and family support to file an expungement petition and obtain a criminal history on their own.Second, the act modifies the discretionary expungement provisions to allow more children the ability to petition the Court for an expungement. These changes allow the Court to consider an expungement where the child has demonstrated rehabilitation despite multiple youthful indiscretions. These provisions will enable a greater number of deserving youth the ability to move beyond their past and recognizes that most youth mature out of offending behavior.

80:414

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