If possible, have the attorney who represented you at the court proceedings write a letter explaining what occurred during the trial (for example, evidence that was excluded which would have otherwise proven your innocence, the fact that you maintained your innocence throughout the trial, etc.). Applicants are not required to disclose expunged records in response to any employment-related inquiry. With an important caveat, a person may not be refused a license or occupational/professional certificate solely because of a prior criminal conviction, unless the criminal conviction directly relates to the occupation or profession for which the license, certificate or registration is sought. Expungement, Sealing & Other Record Relief, Criminal Record in Employment, Licensing & Housing, 50-State Essays: The Many Roads to Reintegration, I. . 9 (S.B. 19.2-392.16. art. See https://www.cannabis.virginia.gov/. In his four years in office (2010-2014) Governor McDonnell granted a total of 52 simple pardons, 46 in his final year in office, for reasons ranging from restoration of firearms rights to facilitate military enlistment and removal of legal barriers to adoption, to relief from disqualification for public office and employment. Effective July 1, 2019, a petition need no longer be filed where a pardon was granted for innocence, and such a pardon remains grounds for automatic expungement. Court records are automatically destroyed annually if the juvenile is at least age 19 and five years have elapsed since the last hearing in any juvenile case. Court-appointed legal assistance: Individuals who cannot afford an attorney for help with the petition-based sealing process can request one. The Secretary of the Commonwealth is the office that receives all pardon applications. We suggest that you submit a detailed and genuine personal statement detailing your reasons for requesting a pardon. First, private companies (defined as business screening services under the bill) have an obligation to delete sealed records and must take steps to ensure they do not maintain sealed or inaccurate records. See general rules at https://commonwealth.virginia.gov/judicial-system/pardons/simple-pardons/. If any felonies were involved, the applicant must However, keep in mind that the absolute pardon does not automatically expunge your conviction; you must still apply to a court for this after you receive the pardon. Police records for marijuana possession of one ounce or less will take effect July 1, 2021. An absolute pardon may be granted when the Governor is convinced that the petitioner is innocent of the charge for which he or she was convicted. An absolute pardon is often a remedy of last resort. In order to be eligible for an absolute pardon, you must have: Pled not guilty throughout the judicial process. Va. Code Ann. Candice Reid, Restoration of Rights Director Ralph Northam on July 14, according to a news release from UVa, after serving 22 years behind bars. There will not be a hearing, meeting, or conference on your application. WebA conditional pardon is an act to modify or end a sentence imposed by the court. Va. Code Ann. Va. Code Ann. The statute specifies that if a court places an individual on probation under this section, it is considered a conviction for purposes of school suspension under 22.1-315. [7] Having a terminal illness with a life expectancy of three months or less would qualify you for a conditional pardon. Governor of Virginia Recall we stated in Part B that you must have applied for a Restoration of Rights before you can apply for a simple pardon (you do not need to do the same with a conditional pardon or an absolute pardon). 1101(a)(48)(A)(i) to make him deportable. Your entire application/petition, along with all supporting documents and letters of recommendation, should be mailed to: The Honorable [current Governors name] if, based upon all the information available, including the applicants record of prior convictions, it finds that the applicant is unfit or unsuited to engaged in such occupation or profession. 54.1-204(A). See 16.1-278.8. for the succession of executive actions between 2013 and 2021 restoring civil rights to persons with felony convictions. The Constitution of Virginia gives the Governor the power to grant pardons, reprieves, commutations, and remission of fines and penalties. 53.1-136(5), 53.1-231. 53.1-134. 18.2-308.2(A). Introduces a system of court-appointed counsel for individuals who cannot afford an attorney for the petition-based sealing process. See 2021 Virginia Laws Ch. See Effect section below. Nearly all other misdemeanor convictions, except DUI and domestic assault, are eligible if the person was not convicted of a new crime for a, Class 5 felonies (110 years in prison), Class 6 felonies (15 years in prison), and felony larceny convictions (except certain DUI offenses) are eligible for petition-based sealing if the person has not been convicted of any offense for a, Deferred dismissals for offenses other than marijuana and alcohol possession are also eligible for petition-based sealing. If your reason for applying is to avoid deportation (yes, you can be placed in deportation proceedings even while you are being incarcerated), explain to the Governor how being separated from your family would be devastating for both you and them. See also Crespo v. Holder, 631 F.3d 130 (4th Cir. 18.2-308.2(A). If you have convictions in other states, you may need to obtain a more comprehensive, nationwide criminal report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 2022 19.2-327.19 was amended to provide that a petitioner seeking a writ of vacatur based on status as a victim of sex trafficking shall not be required to pay any fees or costs for filing such petition if the petitioner is found to be unable to pay them. IMPLES ONDITIONALC If you would like to apply for an absolute pardon, and have met the eligibility requirements indicated in Part B, your letter to the Governor must contain the following information[8]: Refer to the above section on Simple Pardons for information about how to obtain your criminal records and suggestions about what to include in your letter to the Governor. The legislature has authorized the Parole Board, at the request of the governor, to investigate and make recommendations on pardon cases, but this does not limit the governors power. Employers may not inquire about expunged non-conviction records or conviction records expunged in the case of a pardon for innocence. Any previous names and/or aliases you have used. 19.2-392.8(b). Taken into custody at age 18, Bobbie Morman Jr. served more than 22 years of a 48-year prison sentence for an Aug. 4, 1993, drive-by shooting in Norfolk, Virginia, in which no one was 53.1-231. Criminal record in employment & licensing, http://leg2.state.va.us/DLS/h&sdocs.nsf/Search+All+Published/?SearchView&SearchOrder=4&query=clemency, https://commonwealth.virginia.gov/judicial-system, https://commonwealth.virginia.gov/judicial-system/pardons/simple-pardons/, https://commonwealth.virginia.gov/judicial-system/pardons/simple-pardons, https://www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/secretary-of-the-commonwealth/pdf/VIRGINIA-EXECUTIVE-CLEMENCY-FACT-SHEET.pdf, https://rga.lis.virginia.gov/Published/2021/SD2/PDF, http://leg2.state.va.us/dls/h&sdocs.nsf/By+Year/SD22014/$file/SD2.pdf, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-politics/cuccinelli-set-to-announce-findings-on-restoring-voting-rights-of-virginia-felons/2013/05/27/9f6819e0-c6e4-11e2-9245-773c0123c027_story.html, http://www.eji.org/files/howell-v-mcauliffe-virginia-supreme-court-decision-07-22-16.pdf, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/23/us/virginia-felony-supreme-court.html, https://governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/newsarticle?articleId=3880, http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/mcauliffe-to-speed-rights-restoration/article_661befcf-b8c9-5ca3-ba60-05b75812c9a3.html, http://leg2.state.va.us/dls/h&sdocs.nsf/By+Year/SD22010/$file/SD2.pdf, http://leg2.state.va.us/DLS/h&sdocs.nsf/a762cd2685f84d7a85256f030053196e/0407b390e94aad9e852579bf005c4445?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,clemency. However, A Restoration of Rights certificate does not necessarily restore your gun rights. EffectE. With an important caveat, a person may not be refused a license or occupational/professional certificate solely because of a prior criminal conviction, unless the criminal conviction directly relates to the occupation or profession for which the license, certificate or registration is sought. The order directed further that state employment decisions will not be based on the criminal history of an individual unless demonstrably job-related and consistent with business necessity, or state or federal law prohibits hiring an individual with certain convictions for a particular position. A background check would be conducted only after a candidate has signed a waiver, has been found otherwise eligible for the position, and is being considered for a specific position.. A person who resides in the state but with an out of state conviction must also pursue this judicial route to relief in order to hunt in Virginia. A detailed statement of the facts/circumstances of the offense. For each conviction (misdemeanor or felony) you have ever received, list: The sentence you received, or otherwise the outcome of the case. Finally, these two laws would require, beginning July 1, 2025, the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation must include in its biennial report to the governor certain data related to the criminal history of applicants for each regulatory board, including the number of applicants with a criminal history and cases where denial of a license was based in whole or in part upon the existence of the applicants criminal record. 19.2-392.2(I). The Innocence Project gives law students hands-on Establishes a system of automatic sealing for misdemeanor non-convictions, nine types of misdemeanor convictions, and deferred dismissals for underage alcohol and marijuana possession. The Innocence Project at the University of Virginia School of Law helped Joey Carter, who served 25 years after being convicted of a Norfolk, Virginia, murder, Finally, pardons are granted very sparingly in Virginia. 1406). Va. Code Ann. 53.1-134. Employment history for the last ten years including your job title, start and finish date, employers name and address, and your reason for leaving. Ban-the-Box in public hiringB. For example, if you receive a pardon in Virginia and then move to another state, that other state might take away your gun rights or require you to register as a sex offender again even if the pardon listed these restrictions on you while you were living in Virginia. These letters should indicate to what extent the writer knows you and why he or she thinks you should be granted a pardon. Ralph Northam on July 14, according to a news release from UVa, after serving 22 years behind bars. . PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) Virginia Gov. See Part II, infra. The person is granted an absolute pardon for the commission of a crime for which he has been unjustly convicted. Your simple pardon application will first be sent to the Parole Board for review, and, if the Parole Board finds that your application has merit, it will conduct a thorough investigation. ContentsI. See Va. Code. (See https://www.cannabis.virginia.gov/.) A petition may not be filed until all court ordered treatment, counseling, and restitution has been completed. If you want to pardon for an out-of-state conviction, you should find the appropriate page on this site dealing with pardons in that particular state. Id. If you are facing deportation because of a conviction, explain how being separated from your family will negatively affect you as well as them. 18.2-308.2(B) provides that firearms dispossession provisions shall not apply to . PORTSMOUTH, Va. As one of his final acts in office, Virginia Gov. With enactment of HB 2113 and SB 1406, Virginia gained one of the more progressive record relief systems in the country, with a mixture of automatic and petition-based sealing, both for convictions generally and marijuana offenses specifically. However, a board shall have the authority to refuse a license . Automatic and petition-based expungement of marijuana records: SB1406 further provides that by July 1, 2025, all records of arrests, charges, and convictions for simple marijuana possession, including court records, will be automatically expunged, 19.2392.2:1, and that misdemeanor sale of marijuana paraphernalia will be eligible for a petition-based expungement process. [6] The Parole Boards investigation can take up to a year to complete. This fast track pardon/restoration scheme purports to impose on the Governors office a 90-day time limit to decide court-approved applications. 19.2-392.3, 19.2-392.4(A)(B). DUI and domestic assault) after 7 years, Level 5 and 6 felony convictions after 10 conviction-free years, and deferred dismissals through a petition-based court process. There are no application fees to apply for a pardon in Virginia. He was sentenced to 53 years in prison and ultimately served 24 years before he was released on a conditional pardon by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam in July 2020. An explanation of the clemency system can be found at. [O]ur constitutional history demonstrates a cautious and incremental approach to any expansions of the executive power, leading to the conclusion that the concerns motivating the original framers in 1776 still survive in Virginia. Please carefully read the eligibility requirements, then select the type of pardon for which you are applying. The pardon application form is available at. The new laws would prohibit refusal of a license based on a conviction until the board. It does not restore firearms rights. There will be conditions attached to the pardon (hence the name), which if you violate can cause your pardon to be revoked and you to be thrown back in prison.[11]. D. Vacatur for victims of human trafficking. V irginia Gov. After the Parole Board has completed its investigation, it will make a recommendation to the Governor, who then has the final say on whether or not you receive a pardon. See Va. Code Ann. If regaining your gun rights is important to you, make sure you make you desire known during the application process. 19.2-393.13(C)(xi). Educational accomplishments including the names of schools you attended, years attended, and any degrees or certifications you have received. . Self-explanatory forms are there for you to access and fill out. Governor McAuliffe formalized the pardon process, so that applicants fill out a questionnaire that requires information related to the applicants juvenile and adult criminal record, sentence, employment history, educational background, military service, community service, as well as the reason the applicant feels the governor should grant a pardon. You should also list any positive things that you have done while in prison. Loss & restoration of civil/firearms rightsA. V, 12; The legislature has authorized the Parole Board, at the request of the governor, to investigate and make recommendations on pardon cases, but this does not limit the governors power. 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