The governor of New Jersey signed a bill into law establishing a streamlined process for expunging criminal records resulting from low-level marijuana violations, as well as other nonviolent offenses.
Individuals convicted of low-level crimes such as minor marijuana possession would have their records expunged under a so-called “clean-slate” process, so long as they haven’t committed any new offenses for 10 years. The new law also requires that low-level marijuana convictions are sealed following a court case, so they do not come back to haunt those individuals in the future when looking for a job, education or housing.
At the bill-signing ceremony in Newark, Gov. Murphy, who was recently announced as the new chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said New Jersey is a state that “believes in second chances.”
“I am proud to sign one of the most progressive expungement laws in the nation, which will allow more New Jerseyans the opportunity to fully engage in our society,” he added.
The new law includes a provision stipulating that the expungement process for many low-level cases is automated. An earlier version of the bill was conditionally vetoed by Murphy on the basis that the process needed to be more streamlined.