Should judges be able to clear criminal records for misdemeanor and violation ordinance offenses?
LANSING -- Judges now have more power to determine whether they’re going to clear criminal records.
Governor Rick Snyder has signed legislation that gives judges the ability to drop criminal records on a case-by-case basis. Under the current law, judges can’t clear the record of those with more than one offence. This new Senate Bill gives judges the ability to dismiss a convict’s history, even if he/she has more than one misdemeanor and/or ordinance violation.
Records for serious crimes, such as murder and rape, cannot be erased.
“We don’t want to have situations where responsible adults are being held back from holding good jobs and being productive citizens because they can’t pass a criminal background check during the hiring process due to offenses committed in their youth,” Governor Rick Snyder wrote in a release. “This legislation gives judges the ability to consider whether an individual has turned his or her life around and avoided further wrongdoing.”
It's not an instant fix, though. Under this new legislation, criminals still have to wait at least five years before they can ask to have their record cleared.
You can read more about the bill by clicking here.
Do you think criminals should be able to have their record cleared? Explain why or why not.
