The article clearly says "non-violent" crimes!

What about the violent crime criminals who pled to a lesser charge. Will these criminals "fit" into society?

Quote:

How does this fly with the serge of crimes committed by juveniles? They won't learn anything in a year and come back to terrorize the law abiding citizens again and again...

I'm not saying this idea doesn't have good intentions but there must be something more to it than a straight pardon.

MrRogers (boy as a kid I hated your TV show -- you and that Speedy Delivery Man) anyway I was just kidding -- I know you aren't Mr. Manzo. In one of your posts you said that you had supported Epps and Manzo -- If I remember right -- anyway I was just kidding.

You are wrong however that Manzo's Bill does not agree with you -- here is an excerpt from the Journal Article.

"The proposed bill ... would also require the state to automatically ask the court to expunge the record of someone who was arrested but not convicted of that crime. Currently, all arrests show up on a criminal record, even if the person was acquitted or the charges were dismissed."

If it passes I hope police can still see if someone has been repeatedly arrested -- even if there are no convictions and I myself will miss knowing this information as a landlord.

It is one thing to get arrested once but what about somebody arrested 20 times and never convicted?

Should I have a right to know this? I agree someone arrested once and not convicted should get their record cleaned straight away but how about repeated arrests?

Quote:

[quote]
GrovePath wrote:
Mr. Rogers your name isn't really Mr. Manzo is it? JK


No grovepath it's not.
My suggestions are not even in the proposed bill.
I like things simple.I f your found not guilty it should be the states burden to remove the arrest from your record.

Mr. Rogers your name isn't really Mr. Manzo is it? JK

Here is another article about expungment from last week that wasn't posted here. The former mayor's wife Sandra Cunningham spoke at this seminar.

============================

100 turn out for expungement seminar
Some frustrated when they learn process of getting criminal record erased

Ricardo Kaulessar - Hudson Reporter --- 11/04/2006

Dolores Black, a young Jersey City mother of two, was convicted of a drug possession charge in 2001 and paid her dues - or so she thought.

"I wasted almost two years of school going for nursing and I was just told that because of the possession charge, I cannot get my [nursing] license," said a teary-eyed Black last week.

Black was one of approximately 100 residents who came to a workshop Wednesday at the Mary McLeod Bethune Community Center in Jersey City found out more about expungement of their small-time criminal record.

Expungement is a legal process in which a criminal record is made nonpublic. The end result is that under the law, you can answer employers' questions regarding any criminal conviction without worrying about any previous activity.

But as the invited speakers at the workshop pointed out, expunging one's record takes time and perseverance.

The speakers included several local attorneys, Hudson County Det. Rhudi Snelling, and Jersey City Incinerator Authority Director Oren Dabney.

The event was presented by the Sandra and Glenn D. Cunningham Foundation and City Councilwoman Viola Richardson.

A frustrating 1.5 hours

Some of the attendees became frustrated during the 1.5-hour event and left.

They learned that expungement can be rather detailed, time-consuming, and somewhat expensive depending on income level.

One man angrily said to his friend, "What are we here for?" when he was reading the beginning of a guide put out this year by Legal Services of New Jersey, called "Clearing Your Record - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6."

The beginning of the guide read: "When an expungement is granted, law enforcement agencies are required by law to keep that person's records private. However, the law does allow expunged records to be used later in certain cases. Should the person ever again become involved in any criminal proceedings, the records can be used."

The two men left in the middle of the workshop, but some stayed to learn about the hoops they must jump through if they are expecting a clean slate.

Hudson County Detective Calvin Hart, who also attended the meeting, called for attendees not to get "discouraged" since "the laws need to be changed" in New Jersey regarding expungement.

"You need to keep your behinds here and ask the questions so people know what you are going through," said Hart.

Councilwoman Richardson said there would be another workshop in the near future to make it easier.

"You can write to your assemblyman and other local representatives and make your voice heard on changing the laws," said Richardson, "because the squeaky wheel gets the oil."

Sandra Cunningham said that Nov. 30 may be the date of the next workshop.

The process

Expungement requires completing a petition for expungement, explaining why one should qualify; and getting a hearing before a judge.

Copies of the petition have to be sent to various law enforcement agencies. If someone is granted an expungement, copies of the expungement order also have to be sent same law enforcement agencies.

In the state of New Jersey, expunging a disorderly persons conviction (a crime with six or fewer months punishment) requires a five-year wait. A violation of a municipal ordinance requires a two-year waiting period.

An individual found guilty of a crime with six months' or more punishment is eligible for expungement only 10 years from the date of the conviction, payment of fine, completion of probation or parole, or release from jail.

Some crimes may not be expunged. In New Jersey, they are murder, kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, arson and related offenses, perjury, false testimony, and conspiracies or attempts to the mentioned crimes.

Drug crimes are not eligible for expungement, unless the person was 21 years old or younger.

417 applied last year

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said last week that there were 417 expungement applications filed in Hudson County in 2005, although he could not provide how many were granted.

DeFazio said, "I think it can be time-consuming, but clearly anyone who is eligible to get an expungment should do so. We should be willing to forgive one mistake."

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

The way i see it is this,a guy gets in a fight and is arrested, goes to court and is found not guilty, then the state should remove this from the record.

As it is now all arrests are on the record regardless if you have been found guilty.The process of expungement is expensive and to complicated to do alone.

Good bill but very bad promotion.

non violent crimes should be cleared from your record automatically after five years unless you do something new,then all your old stuff should resurface.This way you have incentives to stay clean.

Quote:

Not the first time some Jersey Journal headline writer has done this, this is routine. Yet another reason why the paper sucks.

Yes -- I agree -- but I would rent to that person.

I think you mean 18 because 17 would be expunged automatically but yeah. Maybe they could develop something like a credit score for criminal records.

Like he has a past but is only a 840

or


He has a past and is a 420

Quote:

I can understand your concerns as a landlord, but don't you think it's a little unfair if someone's pot conviction from when they were 17 is hurting their job prospects nine years later, especially if they haven't committed any other crimes?

Then again, I'd rather just decriminalize marijuana altogether.

Yeah the whole title was

Manzo: Let's help cons get jobs

The title should at least said ex-cons -- hence I added the part spelling out that he was introducing a new bill called the "Expungement Reform Act"

Not sure how I feel about this but the title was very misleading -- I must say as a landlord I do want to know crime history as much as possible.

Quote:

I fully support this. And the headline writer should be fired.

Manzo: Let's help cons get jobs
Friday, November 17, 2006
By ALI WINSTON
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

To help clean up crime, Assemblyman Lou Manzo says, we should give some convicted criminals a truly clean slate.

Manzo says his first-in-the-nation bill, the Expungement Reform Act or "New ERA," would help integrate people convicted of non-violent crimes back into society. He outlined the bill, which has been introduced in the Assembly, at the Urban League on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive yesterday.

The proposed bill would shorten the period of time required to expunge the criminal record of a non-violent offender from 10 years to five years or less, and would require the parole board to petition for expungement on that person's behalf. It would also require the state to automatically ask the court to expunge the record of someone who was arrested but not convicted of that crime. Currently, all arrests show up on a criminal record, even if the person was acquitted or the charges were dismissed.

Youth offenders would also benefit - their juvenile records could be expunged after staying out of trouble for one year, instead of the current five. Those convicted of drug possession charges could have their records cleared in three months instead of 12.

It would also allow job seekers to withhold information on expunged offenses or arrests from potential employers.

Manzo said the bill is the first of its kind in the country and that he expects it to meet stiff opposition from those who say it would be "soft on crime."

Instead, Manzo says, his bill is "the toughest crime-fighting bill that will go to the Legislature this year" because it would cut down on repeat offenders.

The New Jersey Parole Board has cited unemployment as the greatest obstacle to the successful rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. Getting a job in Hudson County is tough enough without having to disclose a previous arrest or conviction for a non-violent offense, Manzo said.

"Decency demands that those who have been convicted of non-violent offenses and have paid their debt to society should not be forced to wear a scarlet letter for eternity," he said.

"I can't emphasize how important this bill is," said Matthis Sharpless, 49, a former convict and participant in Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham's Second Chance Program who now works for the Jersey City Incinerator Authority.

"I'd work for four or five days, then when my boss did a background check I'd lose my job. It was constantly killing my hopes."