Bipartisan House lawmakers filed a bill on Friday that would create a process to expunge federal misdemeanor marijuana convictions and allow courts to recommend presidential pardons for eligible cases.
Reps. Troy Carter (D-LA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) are sponsoring the new Marijuana Misdemeanor Expungement Act, which would require the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court to implement rules to facilitate the “review, expungement, sealing, sequester and redaction” of criminal records for low-level federal cannabis crimes.
The bill lays out specific criminal codes that would constitute an “expungable event.”
That includes current statutes criminalizing possession and distribution of small amounts of marijuana without remuneration, as well as “any other federal misdemeanor, petty offense, infraction, or civil penalty involving marijuana, including marijuana-related drug paraphernalia” that didn’t involve violence or threats of violence.
In order to be eligible for expungement under the proposal, at least one year must have transpired since the arrest or the last, non-technical docket filing. Courts could only process the relief if they haven’t been notified by federal authorities that the given case is ongoing or that the person involved has evaded prosecution.
My full release here ➡️ https://t.co/5xXtqq7g5z
— Congressman Troy A. Carter (@RepTroyCarter) July 29,
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