HOUSE BILL No. 4327

 

February 17, 2005, Introduced by Reps. Waters, Cushingberry, Meisner, Alma Smith, Ward, Lemmons, Jr., Gaffney, McConico and Lemmons, III and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

     A bill to amend 1965 PA 213, entitled

 

"An act to provide for setting aside the conviction in certain

criminal cases; to provide for the effect of such action; to

provide for the retention of certain nonpublic records and their

use; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain public agencies

and officers; and to prescribe penalties,"

 

by amending section 1 (MCL 780.621), as amended by 2002 PA 472; and

 

to repeal acts and parts of acts.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1. (1) Except as provided in  subsection (2)  subsections

 

(2) and (10), a person who is convicted of not more than 1 felony

 

offense and no other offenses or not more than 2 misdemeanor

 

offenses may file an application with the convicting court for the

 

entry of an order setting aside  the conviction  either the felony

 

offense or 1 or both of the misdemeanor offenses.

 


     (2) A person shall not apply to have set aside, and a judge

 

shall not set aside, a conviction for  a  any of the following:

 

     (a) A felony for which the maximum punishment is life

 

imprisonment or an attempt to commit a felony for which the maximum

 

punishment is life imprisonment.  , a

 

     (b) A conviction for a violation or attempted violation of

 

section 520c, 520d, or 520g of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA

 

328, MCL 750.520c, 750.520d, and 750.520g.  , or a

 

     (c) A conviction for a traffic offense.

 

     (3) An application shall  not  only be filed  until at least  

 

according to the following time limitations:

 

     (a) Not less than 5 years following  imposition of the

 

sentence  the successful completion of probation or parole imposed

 

for  the  a felony conviction that the applicant seeks to set aside

 

or not less than 5 years following completion of any term of

 

imprisonment for that conviction, whichever occurs later.

 

     (b) Not less than 2 years following the successful completion

 

of probation imposed for a misdemeanor conviction that the

 

applicant seeks to set aside or not less than 2 years following

 

completion of any term of imprisonment for that conviction,

 

whichever occurs later.

 

     (4) The  An application under this section is invalid unless

 

it contains the following information and is signed under oath by

 

the person whose conviction is to be set aside:

 

     (a) The full name and current address of the applicant.

 

     (b) A certified record of  the  each conviction that is to be

 

set aside.

 


     (c) A statement that the applicant has not been convicted of

 

an offense other than the  one  conviction or convictions sought to

 

be set aside as a result of this application.

 

     (d) A statement as to whether the applicant has previously

 

filed an application to set aside this conviction or convictions or

 

any other conviction and, if so, the disposition of the

 

application.

 

     (e) A statement as to whether the applicant has any other

 

criminal charge pending against him or her in any court in the

 

United States or in any other country.

 

     (f) A consent to the use of the nonpublic record created under

 

section 3 to the extent authorized by section 3.

 

     (5) The applicant shall submit a copy of the application and  

 

2 complete sets  1 complete set of fingerprints to the department

 

of state police. The department of state police shall compare those

 

fingerprints with the records of the department, including the

 

nonpublic record created under section 3, and shall forward  a  an

 

electronic copy of the complete set of fingerprints to the federal

 

bureau of investigation for a comparison with the records available

 

to that agency. The department of state police shall report to the

 

court in which the application is filed the information contained

 

in the department's records with respect to any pending charges

 

against the applicant, any record of conviction of the applicant,

 

and the setting aside of any conviction of the applicant and shall

 

report to the court any similar information obtained from the

 

federal bureau of investigation. The court shall not act upon the

 

application until the department of state police reports the

 


information required by this subsection to the court.

 

     (6) The copy of the application submitted to the department of

 

state police under subsection (5) shall be accompanied by a fee of

 

$50.00 payable to the state of Michigan  which  that shall be used

 

by the department of state police to defray the expenses incurred

 

in processing the application.

 

     (7) A copy of the application shall be served upon the

 

attorney general and upon the office of the prosecuting attorney

 

who prosecuted the crime, and an opportunity shall be given to the

 

attorney general and to the prosecuting attorney to contest the

 

application. If  the  a conviction was for an assaultive crime or a

 

serious misdemeanor, the prosecuting attorney shall notify the

 

victim of the assaultive crime or serious misdemeanor of the

 

application pursuant to section 22a or 77a of the crime victim's

 

rights act, 1985 PA 87, MCL 780.772a and 780.827a. The notice shall

 

be by first-class mail to the victim's last known address. The

 

victim has the right to appear at any proceeding under this act

 

concerning that conviction and to make a written or oral statement.

 

     (8) Upon the hearing of the application the court may require

 

the filing of affidavits and the taking of proofs as it considers

 

proper.

 

     (9) If the court determines that the circumstances and

 

behavior of the applicant from the date of the applicant's

 

conviction or convictions to the filing of the application warrant

 

setting aside the conviction or convictions and that setting aside

 

the conviction or convictions is consistent with the public

 

welfare, the court may enter an order setting aside the conviction

 


or convictions. The setting aside of a conviction or convictions

 

under this act is a privilege and conditional and is not a right.

 

     (10) A person who is convicted of more than 1 misdemeanor for

 

any of the following shall not apply to set aside a conviction for,

 

and a judge shall not set aside more than 1 misdemeanor conviction

 

for, violating or attempting to violate any of the following:

 

     (a) A crime in which the victim was a spouse, a former spouse,

 

an individual with whom he or she has had a child in common, an

 

individual with whom he or she has or has had a dating

 

relationship, or an individual residing or having resided in the

 

same household.

 

     (b) Section 81, 81a, 8lc, 90b, 136b, or 411h(2)(a) of the

 

Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.81, 750.81a, 750.81c,

 

750.90b, 750.136b, and 750.411h.

 

     (11)   (10)  As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Assaultive crime" means that term as defined in section

 

9a of chapter X of the code of criminal procedure, 1927 PA 175, MCL

 

770.9a.

 

     (b) "Dating relationship" means that term as defined in

 

section 2950 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236,

 

MCL 600.2950.

 

     (c) "Felony" means a violation of a penal law of this state

 

that is punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year or is

 

expressly designated by law to be a felony.

 

     (d) "Misdemeanor" means a violation of a penal law of this

 

state that is not a felony or a violation of an order, rule, or

 

regulation of a state agency that is punishable by imprisonment for

 


not more than 1 year or a fine that is not a civil fine, or both.

 

     (e)   (b)  "Serious misdemeanor" means that term as defined in

 

section 61 of the crime victim's rights act, 1985 PA 87, MCL

 

780.811.

 

     (f)   (c)  "Victim" means that term as defined in section 2 of

 

the crime victim's rights act, 1985 PA 87, MCL 780.752.

 

     Enacting section 1.  Section 4 of 1965 PA 213, MCL 780.624, is

 

repealed.