BILL REQ. #:  H-0804.1 

Read first time 01/23/2003.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to vacation of records of conviction for pre-sentencing reform act felony offenses; and amending RCW 9.95.240 and 9.92.066.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 9.95.240 and 1957 c 227 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Every defendant who has fulfilled the conditions of his or her probation for the entire period thereof, or who shall have been discharged from probation prior to the termination of the period thereof, may at any time ((prior to the expiration of the maximum period of punishment for the offense for which he has been convicted)) be permitted in the discretion of the court to withdraw his or her plea of guilty and enter a plea of not guilty, or if he or she has been convicted after a plea of not guilty, the court may in its discretion set aside the verdict of guilty; and in either case, the court may thereupon dismiss the information or indictment against such defendant, who shall thereafter be released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense or crime of which he or she has been convicted. ((The probationer shall be informed of this right in his probation papers: PROVIDED, That in any subsequent prosecution, for any other offense, such prior conviction may be pleaded and proved, and shall have the same effect as if probation had not been granted, or the information or indictment dismissed.)) The order of dismissal shall have the effect of restoring all civil rights lost by operation of law upon conviction, and the order of dismissal shall so state.
     (2)(a) The court may also, in its discretion, enter an order vacating the judgment and sentence as provided in RCW 9.94A.640. Once a court vacates a record of conviction under this section, the fact that the offender has been convicted of the offense shall not be included in the offender's criminal history for purposes of determining a sentence in any subsequent conviction. For all purposes, including responding to questions on employment applications, an offender whose conviction has been vacated under this section may state that the offender has never been convicted of that crime.
     (b) The clerk of the court in which the vacation order is entered shall immediately transmit the order vacating the conviction to the Washington state patrol identification section and to the local police agency, if any, which holds criminal history information for the person who is the subject of the conviction. The Washington state patrol and any such local police agency shall immediately update their records to reflect the vacation of the conviction, and shall transmit the order vacating the conviction to the federal bureau of investigation. A conviction that has been vacated under this section may not be disseminated or disclosed by the state patrol or local law enforcement agency to any person, except other criminal justice enforcement agencies.

Sec. 2   RCW 9.92.066 and 1971 ex.s. c 188 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Upon termination of any suspended sentence under RCW 9.92.060 or 9.95.210, such person may apply to the court for restoration of his or her civil rights, and an order vacating the judgment and sentence as provided in RCW 9.94A.640. Once a court vacates a record of conviction under this section, the fact that the offender has been convicted of the offense shall not be included in the offender's criminal history for purposes of determining a sentence in any subsequent conviction. For all purposes, including responding to questions on employment applications, an offender whose conviction has been vacated under this section may state that the offender has never been convicted of that crime. Thereupon the court may in its discretion enter an order directing that, when such an order vacating the judgment and sentence is entered, such defendant shall thereafter be released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense or crime of which he or she has been convicted.
     (2) The clerk of the court in which the vacation order is entered shall immediately transmit the order vacating the conviction to the Washington state patrol identification section and to the local police agency, if any, which holds criminal history information for the person who is the subject of the conviction. The Washington state patrol and any such local police agency shall immediately update their records to reflect the vacation of the conviction, and shall transmit the order vacating the conviction to the federal bureau of investigation. A conviction that has been vacated under this section may not be disseminated or disclosed by the state patrol or local law enforcement agency to any person, except other criminal justice enforcement agencies.