1. CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015

2. Consequences of a Juvenile Record
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015

3. Juvenile Records can have Devastating Lifelong Consequences
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Juvenile Records can have Devastating Lifelong Consequences
Juvenile records may affect a youth long after they have completed their sentence.
For an in depth guide on the wide range of consequence see “The Consequences of Adjudication” on Colorado Public Defender website.
CC Example
JD caught a case for smoking pot when he was 13
This was only time that he got in trouble with the law. JD was a good student, graduated from high school, and applied to the University of Colorado.
Could his adjudication impact his admission to CU?
JD graduates from college with his degree in education when he is 22.
Could his adjudication impact his application for a teaching license?
Because he needs to be able to pay off his student loans he decides to see if he can join the army.
Could his adjudication impact his ability to join the military

4. Employment Consequences
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Employment Consequences
No Colorado law prohibits discrimination by private employers based on a juvenile history.
Police records are often checked by employers through a “background check” (see sample rap sheet) – Employers can consider adjudications only if they relate to the job applied for (i.e. DUI / pizza delivery driver)
If the record is available to the public, your rap sheet will say “juvenile” if the offense occurred when you were under age 18. Most employers will not understand the difference between “adjudicated” and “convicted” on your rap sheet
If you apply for any law enforcement, all juvenile adjudications (even those that aren’t available to the public) will appear on your rap sheet
The ability to get professional licenses, such as teaching or nursing licenses, may be effected

5. Education Consequences
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Education Consequences
Many colleges, for example the University of Colorado, specifically ask about juvenile adjudications on the college application.
Record may also have implications at current school
Juvenile records may affects a young person’s ability to get funding for college and can prevent their acceptance into secondary education programs.
Many colleges & universities will ask on their applications whether you have ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor
Some applications also ask teachers & counselors if they know whether you have been convicted of a crime
 This means… Would you need to report a juvenile adjudication if a college application asks about convictions?
REMEMBER: an adjudication in juvenile court ≠ conviction in adult court, so you & your teachers can answer “no” to these questions
NOTE: Some applications also specifically ask for information about juvenile records now.
For example the University of Colorado, specifically ask about juvenile adjudications on the college application

6. Other possible consequences
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Other possible consequences
Housing
Public benefits
Possession or Purchase of a firearm
Financial Aid
Certain drug offenses make individuals ineligible for federal aid
Driver’s License
Revoked or suspended license if juvenile was adjudicated delinquent for an offense where (1) vehicle was “essentially involved,” (2) for certain drug offenses, or (3) offenses committed on school property
Possession or Purchase of a firearm
In CO -- person may be forbidden from possessing a firearm for the rest of his or her life because of a juvenile adjudication. (In Colorado violating this rule results in a felony conviction).

7. CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Military
Moral criteria
Moral waiver
It may be difficult to be accepted to military service if you have a juvenile record, because:
Must satisfy moral criteria to enroll in military – looks to records of arrest, charges, juvenile court adjudications, traffic violations, probation periods, dismissed or pending charges or convictions, including those which have been expunged or sealed.
If you have a juvenile record, you can ask for a “moral waiver” to enlist but some crimes make you completely ineligible

8. Other possible consequences
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Other possible consequences
Licenses
Child Welfare System
Driver’s License
A driver’s license may be revoked
Other licenses
The ability to get other licenses, such as hunting, fishing, or wildlife licenses, may be effected
Public Benefits
Adjudications for some drug offenses
lifetime ban of TANF & Food Stamps
Child welfare system:
If you have a juvenile record & your child has been removed by DHS, the court can withhold custody of your child from you. You may also be prevented from jobs where you work with children, or from being approved as a foster parent, or adoptive parent

9. CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Expungement

10. Expungement is not automatic
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Expungement is not automatic
In Colorado, there is no automatic expungement. Unless a person is proactive, and petitions the court to expunge their juvenile records, these records juvenile records exist for life.

11. Expungement in Colorado
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Expungement in Colorado
Records are not physically destroyed in Colorado.
Even after they are expunged, some entities will still have access.
Basic identification information on the juvenile and a list of any state and local agencies and officials having contact with the juvenile
a district attorney, local law enforcement agency, the department of human services, the state judicial department, and the victim
But information “shall not be available to an agency of the military forces of the United States.”
And information is not available to the public

12. Expungement in Colorado
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Expungement in Colorado
Records designated as expunged may be inspected by order of the court, after a hearing where the court finds good cause.
Special rules apply to repeat or mandatory juvenile offenders.
Records designated as expunged may be inspected by order of the court, after a hearing where the court finds good cause. (Juvenile to receive notice of the hearing)
If juvenile was charged, adjudicated, or convicted as a repeat or mandatory juvenile offender, any criminal justice record remains available to:
a court, a district attorney, any law enforcement agency, or any agency of the state judicial department
in any subsequent criminal investigation, prosecution, or adjudication
or during probation or parole supervision, if otherwise permitted.
Repeat or mandatory juvenile offenders:

13. What should the youth say on an application?
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
What should the youth say on an application?
The statute does explicitly allow the juvenile to treat expunged records as if they never existed.
C.R.S. § (48): Expungement means the designation of juvenile delinquency records, whereby, such records are deemed never to have existed.
C.R.S. § (1): Upon the entry of an expungement order, the person, agency, and court may properly indicate that no record exists.

14. Expungement Process
Expungement process in Colorado can be a difficult process for pro se clients to navigate.
Locate documents and case information
File petition and appropriate paperwork
Court sets a hearing
Petitioner presents argument at the hearing
Court Rules
Petitioner must mail expungement order to law enforcement

15. In order to Expunge a Juvenile Record in Colorado the Court Must Find:
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
In order to Expunge a Juvenile Record in Colorado the Court Must Find:
Petitioner has been rehabilitated to the satisfaction of the court and
Expungement is in the best interest of petitioner and community.
EXPUNGEMENT IS DISCRETIONARY

16. Some cases cannot be expunged…
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Some cases cannot be expunged…
A person will not be able to petition for expungement if:
Since the case that the individual wishes to expunge, he or she has been found guilty of a felony (as an adult or juvenile); or
Since the case that that individual wishes to expunge, he or she has been found guilty of a misdemeanor crime involving domestic violence, unlawful sexual behavior, or possession of a weapon (as an adult or juvenile); or
Individual has a felony, misdemeanor, or juvenile charge pending against him or her.

17. Other Expungement Disqualifications
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Other Expungement Disqualifications
Individual was sentenced as an aggravated juvenile offender or violent juvenile offender; or
Individual was charged and sentenced as an adult; or
Individual was adjudicated in the case that he or she wish to expunge of a charge that involved unlawful sexual behavior; or
Individual has failed to pay court ordered restitution.

18. CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
No Waiting Period
How long does a person have to wait if…
Waiting Period
Person was charged with a prostitution offenses where person was sold, exchanged, bartered, leased, or coerced
None
Person was found not guilty at trial
Person’s ENTIRE petition was dismissed by the prosecutor (he or she did not enter any plea)
Person successfully completed diversion, a deferred adjudication, or an informal adjustment
None (eligible once successfully complete)

19. CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Waiting Periods
How long does a person have to wait if…
Waiting Period
Person was contacted by law enforcement but was never charged, never went to Court, and they never referred the case to anyone else
One year
Person successfully completed probation
One year from the end of probation (unless repeat or mandatory juvenile offender)
Person was released from my commitment to DYC and have finished all parole supervision
Three years from the end of the sentence (including parole) (unless repeat or mandatory juvenile offender)
Person was sentenced as a repeat or mandatory juvenile offender
Five years from the end of the sentence

20. Some Nuances of the Colorado Expungement Statute
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Some Nuances of the Colorado Expungement Statute
In Colorado, the chronological order of cases can impact a person’s ability to expunge their record
First Offense
Second Offense
Result
Felony
Misdemeanor (Not DV, POW, USB) ☻
Felony* (technically you could try and expunge just the felony) *
Misdemeanor (DV, POW, USB) 
Misdemeanor (DV, POW, USB(if diversion or deferred sentence)

21. CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Other Nuances …
For arrest only cases – individuals have to wait one year until he or she is eligible to expunge their record – the same amount of time a petitioner would have to wait if he or she was sentenced to probation.
Unclear what the waiting period is if a petitioner doesn’t successfully complete a probation sentence and is not committed.
The only sex offense cases eligible for expungement are those that received and completed a deferred sentence or diversion- but have to watch out for split pleas.

22. CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Other Nuances …
You can’t expunge traffic offenses.
School records are not included in the standard expungement order.
Can’t expunge adult charges that stem from the juvenile charges, such as failure to register cases.

23. Obstacles to Expungement in Colorado
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Obstacles to Expungement in Colorado

24. No Automatic Expungement
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
No Automatic Expungement
Many individuals that CJDC has worked with believed that their records would be sealed.
Often individuals do not realize that their juvenile record is creating obstacles to their success until it is too late.
No established system to remind individuals that they are eligible once their waiting period is up.

25. Lack of Free Representation
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Lack of Free Representation
Limited availability of free representation
Process can be a very confusing process
Public Defender does not handle expungement cases.
Colorado Legal Services does not handle expungement.
Petitions get turned down based on technicalities.
Colorado process puts the onus of follow through on the petitioner.

26. Barriers to Fast Filing
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Barriers to Fast Filing
CJDC does not have access to data access.
Youth often lose paperwork and forget details like case numbers.
Courts often want certain proof or documents.
CJDC has to gather this information and these documents before filing the petition.
I want to make sure to emphasize to these folks that we have limited access to info so they will save it and share it

27. Record Collection and Costs
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Record Collection and Costs
Even though there are no filing fees for expungement there are costs associated with collecting the necessary documents.
25¢-75¢ per page at the courthouse
Sometime an archive charge of up to $25 for older files
The cost of mailing out the expungement order can also be burden.

28. What Can Professionals Do To Help?
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
What Can Professionals Do To Help?

29. CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
What type of information should be included in a petition for expungement?
Goal is to make the judge realize that the person is more than just a case number.
Because expungement is discretionary it is important to go beyond just the basic paperwork.

30. What can you do to help a youth with a petition?
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
What can you do to help a youth with a petition?
Encourage youth to get involved in pro-social activities and help youth collect documentation (certificates, news articles, group pictures).
Give a copy of the file to the youth (or a digital copy such as a CD) when the youth has completed all requirements/finished program.
Keep contact information for all the professionals and court personnel in the case.
Think about innovative ways to give records-for example

31. What can you do to help a client with a petition?
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
What can you do to help a client with a petition?
Retain records!
Reevaluate your record destruction policy.
File proof of completion of treatment, successful probation, good behavior, etc. in the court file.
File proof that you support expungement in the court file if possible.
Some record policies were created at a time where records were all physical- but now with digital records those policies should be reevaluated
Learn about your states policies and create record retention policies accordingly
JLC Scorecard
SMART Summary:
Prosecution, Transfer, and Registration of
Serious Juvenile Sex Offenders

32. What can you do to help a youth with a petition?
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
What can you do to help a youth with a petition?
Reach out to the youth at the end of the waiting period to remind them to expunge/deregister.
Help the youth understand the process and fill out the paperwork.
Refer the youth for legal help.
Provide relevant documents directly to any attorney for faster filing.

33. What can you do to help a youth with a petition?
CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
What can you do to help a youth with a petition?
Assist the youth with getting letters of support from diversion, probation, or parole officers, therapists, social workers, case managers, etc.
Assist the youth with collecting other positive records, for example, school reports and employee certificates of achievement.

34. CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Additional Resources
Colorado Juvenile Defender Center Website
The Consequences of Adjudication, Sanctions Beyond the Sentence for Juveniles Under Colorado Law, Colorado State Public Defender
ntent&view=article&id=199&Itemid=161
Juvenile Law Center, Failed Policies, Forfeited Futures: A Nationwide Scorecard on Juvenile Records

35. CJDC Expungement Presentation
9/2/2015
Questions? or
Dafna Gozani