Expungement Petition - Preparation Worksheet

CONNECTICUT CRIMINAL-RECORD ERASURE PREPARATION GUIDE

SELECT THE CORRECT ERASURE ROUTE BEFORE FILING. Connecticut does not use one general expungement petition for every record. Adult Clean Slate, ordinary nonconviction erasure, cannabis erasure, absolute pardons, and juvenile erasure have different procedures. Use the current official form or agency process identified below.

1. ROUTE SELECTION

☐ Eligible adult conviction for an offense committed before January 1, 2000. Use Judicial Branch form JD-CR-202, Petition for Clean Slate Erasure, Convictions Before 1/1/2000, and file it in the court where the sentence was imposed.

☐ Eligible adult conviction for an offense committed on or after January 1, 2000 that should have been automatically erased. Do not use JD-CR-202. Obtain a current Connecticut criminal-history record and use the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection DESPP-0847-C Clean Slate hearing/review process if the eligible conviction has not been marked erased.

☐ Dismissal, acquittal, nolle older than the statutory period, or completed qualifying diversion. Review automatic erasure under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-142a before filing anything. Confirm the docket and criminal-history record rather than treating JD-CR-202 as the remedy.

☐ Cannabis conviction. Use the separate petition route under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-142v or § 54-142d. The State Clean Slate portal states that there is no official court form for these petitions.

☐ Absolute pardon. Apply through the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles. If an absolute pardon has already been granted, confirm that the covered conviction was erased under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-142a rather than filing JD-CR-202 as a substitute for the pardon process.

☐ Juvenile delinquency or family-with-service-needs record. Use current Judicial Branch form JD-JM-12, Erasure of Record Petition/Order, under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-146. Do not use the adult JD-CR-202 form.

2. ADULT CLEAN SLATE — PRE-2000 CONVICTION

Complete this section only for JD-CR-202.

A. Case identification

JD-CR-202 permits only one docket number per petition. Prepare a separate form for every additional docket.

B. Date and offense-class screen

☐ The offense was committed before January 1, 2000.

☐ The conviction is a misdemeanor.

☐ The conviction is a class D or class E felony.

☐ The conviction is an unclassified felony for which the maximum imprisonment authorized by statute was no more than five years.

☐ The conviction is a motor-vehicle violation for which the maximum imprisonment authorized by statute was no more than five years.

The statutory maximum controls. A sentence of five years or less does not make an offense eligible if the statute authorized a longer sentence.

C. Blocked-offense screen

Confirm the exact offense against current Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-142a(e)(2) and the official eligibility list.

☐ The conviction is not a sexually violent offense.

☐ The conviction is not a nonviolent sexual offense.

☐ The conviction is not an offense listed in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-142a(e)(2)(C).

☐ If the conviction is under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-227a, there was no other § 14-227a conviction within ten years of this conviction.

☐ No other statutory exclusion applies.

D. Crime-free period

☐ For misdemeanor conviction(s), no other crime was committed within seven years after the most recent conviction.

☐ For felony conviction(s), no other crime was committed within ten years after the most recent conviction.

Most recent controlling conviction date: [__/__/____]

End of applicable period: [__/__/____]

E. Sentence completion and pending charges

☐ All imprisonment, parole, special parole, transitional supervision, and probation for the requested conviction has been completed.

☐ All imprisonment, parole, special parole, transitional supervision, and probation for every other Connecticut state conviction on or after January 1, 2000 has been completed.

☐ No Connecticut state criminal charge is pending.

Completion date of final applicable sentence component: [__/__/____]

F. Filing checklist

☐ Current JD-CR-202 used.

☐ Petition sworn before a notary public, Commissioner of the Superior Court, clerk, or other proper officer.

☐ Filed in the court where sentence was imposed, or in the successor location listed on the current form if that court closed.

☐ Separate petition prepared for each docket number.

☐ Copy retained with proof of filing.

The court may grant the petition without a hearing or schedule a hearing.

3. POST-2000 CLEAN SLATE REVIEW

Eligible convictions imposed on or after January 1, 2000 are handled through the automated Clean Slate process. If an apparently eligible conviction remains on the current criminal-history record:

☐ Obtain a current official criminal-history record from the Connecticut State Police Criminal Records Unit.

☐ Confirm that the record is dated as required by the current DESPP form.

☐ Complete DESPP-0847-C, Hearing for Clean Slate Erasure, Convictions After 1/1/2000.

☐ Attach the criminal-history record.

☐ Identify each offense and explain why it is eligible for erasure.

☐ Submit the packet to DESPP using the current form's electronic or mailing instructions.

DESPP audits the submission. It may approve erasure without further action or schedule a Clean Slate erasure hearing if the information cannot be verified.

4. CANNABIS ERASURE PETITION

Use this section only after confirming that the conviction is within the current cannabis-erasure statutes.

Potential petition categories identified by the official Clean Slate portal include:

☐ Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-279 conviction involving no more than four ounces of a cannabis-type substance during a petition-eligible period.

☐ Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-267(a) conviction involving paraphernalia used or possessed with intent to use only for cannabis before July 1, 2021.

☐ Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-277(b) conviction before July 1, 2021 involving no more than four ounces of a cannabis-type substance or six plants grown inside the person's home for personal use.

The petition must include an arrest record or affidavit establishing the applicable amount, paraphernalia use, or plant facts. Confirm whether Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-142v or § 54-142d governs the conviction.

Optional petition outline

Court: Superior Court, G.A./Judicial District [________]

Docket Number: [________________________________]

Conviction statute and date: [________________________________]

Applicable erasure statute: ☐ § 54-142v ☐ § 54-142d

The Petitioner requests erasure of the identified conviction because:

1. The conviction falls within the applicable statutory category;
2. The attached ☐ arrest record ☐ affidavit establishes the required cannabis amount, use, or plant facts; and
3. The requested relief is limited to the record authorized for erasure by the governing statute.

Supporting facts: [________________________________]

Requested order: [________________________________]

5. JUVENILE ERASURE — JD-JM-12

Use the current Judicial Branch form revised for juvenile matters.

A. Standard timing route

☐ The person has reached age eighteen.

☐ At least two years have passed since discharge from Superior Court supervision, Department of Children and Families custody, or court-ordered institutional or agency care.

☐ If the matter involved a serious juvenile offense, at least four years have passed since discharge.

☐ No juvenile proceeding or adult criminal proceeding is pending.

☐ During the applicable two- or four-year period, there was no delinquency adjudication for conduct that would constitute a felony or misdemeanor if committed by an adult.

☐ During the applicable two- or four-year period, there was no adult felony or misdemeanor conviction.

B. Other juvenile routes

☐ The record exists because the child was a victim of trafficking.

☐ A hearing is requested to show good cause for erasure before the ordinary statutory period expires.

☐ The matter should be erased by operation of law because the delinquency charge was dismissed.

☐ Thirteen months have elapsed since a nolle prosequi or qualifying dismissal without prejudice under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-133a(b).

C. Juvenile filing information

☐ JD-JM-12 signed before a notary public, assistant clerk, or Commissioner of the Superior Court.

☐ Original filed with the court and a copy retained.

6. EFFECT OF ERASURE AND CONTINUING OBLIGATIONS

Erasure generally allows a person to be treated as not having been arrested with respect to the erased proceeding and to swear accordingly where Connecticut law applies. Confirm that the record has actually been erased before relying on that effect.

JD-CR-202 expressly warns that erasure does not itself end an obligation to:

• Register as a sex offender or deadly weapon offender;
• Obey a standing criminal protective order; or
• Pay a court-ordered fine.

Do not represent that erasure vacates every collateral obligation or removes information held under a separate lawful authority.

7. VERIFICATION

I, [________________________________], certify that the information supplied in the selected official form and any attachment is true, complete, and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand that an intentionally false statement intended to mislead a public servant may result in prosecution under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-157b.

Signature: [________________________________]

Printed name: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Required oath or acknowledgment completed before: [________________________________]

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Connecticut Judicial Branch — JD-CR-202
• Connecticut Judicial Branch — JD-JM-12
• State of Connecticut — Petition for Clean Slate Erasure
• State of Connecticut — Clean Slate Eligibility
• State of Connecticut — Cannabis Erasure Petition
• Connecticut DESPP — Clean Slate Hearing Form for Post-2000 Convictions