Mike Schmidt and Carl Macpherson
Schmidt is Multnomah County district attorney. Macpherson is executive director of Metropolitan Public Defender.
As the elected Multnomah County district attorney and the executive director of Oregon’s largest trial-level public defense services provider, our roles within the criminal justice system are quite different. And due to the adversarial nature of the system, we often find ourselves on opposing sides.
However, we are united in supporting a bill in the Legislature that will make Oregon’s criminal record expungement system more just, efficient and equitable.
Everyone should have a fair opportunity to make a living, take care of their families and participate in their communities. Even when people make mistakes, they deserve a second chance at freedom, opportunity and a better future. But instead, nearly 1.5 million Oregonians—including many who have been accused or arrested, but never convicted—are saddled with records that may block their access to jobs, housing, education, starting a business or participating fully in social and civic community life. The impact of that record can be far reaching, impacting the dreams and goals people have created for themselves and their families, including their children.
These old records limit possibilities, causing incredible damage to people and communities. And the costs have a disproportionate impact on low-income and Black and Latinx communities that already face barriers to housing and employment, further perpetuating poverty and racial inequity.
“Expungement” – sealing official court records from public view, including convictions –is a powerful tool to help Oregon families. In fact, a study published in the Harvard Law Review last year found that people who expunged their criminal records were much less likely to commit another crime than the general public. Additionally, they saw their average wages rise by 22% within one year of expungement. As Oregon recovers from the pandemic, getting more Oregonians back to work makes our communities safer and our economy stronger.
However, Oregon’s current expungement statute is not aligned with best practices. For example, there are lengthy waiting periods even for people who were never convicted. The current statute makes people wait up to 20 years to expunge certain convictions—a timeframe that is far longer than national averages and is out of step with public safety research. On top of a lengthy wait, the expungement process includes expensive fees that don’t take into account a person’s financial circumstances, meaning that low-income, and Black and brown people are consistently unable to access the second chances that our expungement law should provide. In fact, research shows that less than 6% of people eligible for expungement under Oregon’s current law actually seek it and successfully get their records cleared — evidence that Oregon’s current process is inaccessible for the vast majority of people.
Senate Bill 397, now in the Ways and Means committee, aims to transform the system by expanding expungement opportunities. SB 397—drafted through extensive collaboration between agencies and organizations representing every part of the criminal justice system—would eliminate or reduce waiting periods for non-convictions, shorten waiting periods for convictions, and eliminate the standard filing fee. We urge the Oregon Senate to approve the bill and send it to the House for further consideration.
We both strongly believe that after doing everything the court has asked them to do, people have the right to move on from their past mistakes. When our loved ones, friends, neighbors, and community members are barred from fully participating in society and our economy, we all lose. We can do better. A criminal record should not be a life sentence to poverty, exclusion and stigma.
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April 21, 2021 at 08:16PM
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Opinion: Ease expungement of past crimes and help people gain second chances - OregonLive
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