Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s executive order last month, which pardoned 175,000 individuals for prior cannabis offenses, “will help many Marylanders with prior convictions navigate the criminal justice system’s uncharted waters,” writes Robert Melvin, the northeast region senior manager of state government affairs for the R Street Institute, in a commentary for Maryland Matters.
“Unfortunately, the narrow scope of these laws means that many other former justice-involved residents are struggling to chart a new course in life,” he writes, suggesting that a Clean Slate policy would automate the process so that a person seeking an expungement no longer needs to hire a lawyer, attend judicial hearings, or pay fees for expungements. “It’s currently estimated that 1 million adults in Maryland have a criminal record, and 410,000 of those adults could benefit from a Clean Slate law,” Melvin writes, noting the difficulties in the expungement process. “While the majority of states, including Maryland, offers petition-based record sealing, reports have found that fewer than 2% of eligible individuals take advantage of this opportunity because of the rigors of navigating the convoluted and costly process."
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