MOTION TO CONDITIONALLY SEAL RECORD OF A MISDEMEANOR DRUG CONVICTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AND GRANTED.
The Third Department determined defendant’s motion to have the record of her drug offense sealed pursuant to Criminal Procedure Law (CPL 160.58 should have been reviewed and granted. County Court refused to consider the motion because defendant’s plea agreement did not address conditional sealing of the record. But CPL 160.58 had not been enacted at the time of the plea:
The record establishes that defendant’s misdemeanor conviction is her sole criminal offense, she has not been arrested since 2008, she has successfully completed the drug court program (thereby avoiding incarceration), she has obtained a college degree and maintained gainful employment and she continues to participate in Narcotics Anonymous. Further, although defendant has received a certificate of relief from civil disabilities, her criminal record is likely to be an impediment to both the furtherance of her career and her future employment prospects. In view of the foregoing, and given that the People now concur with the relief requested by defendant, her motion should be granted and the record of her criminal conviction conditionally sealed pursuant to CPL 160.58. People v Jihan Qq., 2017 NY Slip Op 04524, 3rd Dept 6-8-17
CRIMINAL LAW (SEALING RECORD, MOTION TO CONDITIONALLY SEAL RECORD OF A MISDEMEANOR DRUG CONVICTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AND GRANTED)/SEALING RECORDS (CRIMINAL LAW, MOTION TO CONDITIONALLY SEAL RECORD OF A MISDEMEANOR DRUG CONVICTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN REVIEWED AND GRANTED)