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§ 1203.425 (a) (1) (A) Commencing October 1, 2024, and subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, on a monthly basis, the Department of Justice shall …

Part 2: Of Criminal Procedure | Title 8: Of Judgment and Execution | Chapter 1: The Judgment

(a)  (1) (A) Commencing October 1, 2024, and subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, on a monthly basis, the Department of Justice shall review the records in the statewide criminal justice databases, and based on information in the state summary criminal history repository and the Supervised Release File, shall identify persons with convictions that meet the criteria set forth in subparagraph (B) and are eligible for automatic conviction record relief.

(2)  (A) Except as specified in subdivision (b), the department shall grant relief, including dismissal of a conviction, to a person identified pursuant to paragraph (1) without requiring a petition or motion by a party for that relief if the relevant information is present in the department’s electronic records.

(3)  (A) Commencing July 1, 2022, and subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, on a monthly basis, the department shall electronically submit a notice to the superior court having jurisdiction over the criminal case, informing the court of all cases for which a complaint was filed in that jurisdiction and for which relief was granted pursuant to this section. Commencing on January 1, 2023, for any record retained by the court pursuant to Section 68152 of the Government Code, except as provided in paragraph (4), the court shall not disclose information concerning a conviction granted relief pursuant to this section or Section 1203.4, 1203.4a, 1203.41, or 1203.42, to any person or entity, in any format, except to the person whose conviction was granted relief or a criminal justice agency, as defined in Section 851.92.

(4)  Relief granted pursuant to this section is subject to the following conditions:

(5)  This section does not limit petitions, motions, or orders for relief in a criminal case, as required or authorized by any other law, including, but not limited to, Sections 1016.5, 1203.4, 1203.4a, 1203.4b, 1203.41, 1203.42, 1203.49, and 1473.7. This section does not limit petitions for a certificate of rehabilitation or pardon pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 4852.01) of Title 6 of Part 3.

(6)  Commencing July 1, 2022, and subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the department shall annually publish statistics for each county regarding the total number of convictions granted relief pursuant to this section and the total number of convictions prohibited from automatic relief pursuant to subdivision (b), on the OpenJustice Web portal, as defined in Section 13010.

(7)  Upon request from the subject of the record for a copy of their state summary criminal history information record made in accordance with Sections 11122 and 11123, the department shall furnish a copy of the record to the subject of the record or to an individual designated by them in accordance with Section 11124 to provide confirmation that relief was granted pursuant to this section.

(b)  (1) The prosecuting attorney or probation department may, no later than 90 calendar days before the date of a person’s eligibility for relief pursuant to this section, file a petition to prohibit the department from granting automatic relief pursuant to this section, based on a showing that granting that relief would pose a substantial threat to the public safety. If probation was transferred pursuant to Section 1203.9, the prosecuting attorney or probation department in either the receiving county or the transferring county shall file the petition in the county of current jurisdiction.

(2)  The court shall give notice to the defendant and conduct a hearing on the petition within 45 days after the petition is filed.

(3)  At a hearing on the petition pursuant to this subdivision, the defendant, the probation department, the prosecuting attorney, and the arresting agency, through the prosecuting attorney, may present evidence to the court. Notwithstanding Sections 1538.5 and 1539, the hearing may be heard and determined upon declarations, affidavits, police investigative reports, copies of state summary criminal history information and local summary criminal history information, or any other evidence submitted by the parties that is material, reliable, and relevant.

(4)  The prosecutor or probation department has the initial burden of proof to show that granting conviction relief would pose a substantial threat to the public safety. In determining whether granting relief would pose a substantial threat to the public safety, the court may consider any relevant factors, including, but not limited to, either of the following:

(5)  If the court finds that the prosecutor or probation department has satisfied the burden of proof, the burden shifts to the defendant to show that the hardship of not obtaining relief outweighs the threat to the public safety of providing relief. In determining whether the defendant’s hardship outweighs the threat to the public safety, the court may consider any relevant factors, including, but not limited to, either of the following:

(6)  If the court grants a petition pursuant to this subdivision, the court shall furnish a disposition report to the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 13151, stating that relief pursuant to this section was denied, and the department shall not grant relief pursuant to this section. If probation was transferred pursuant to Section 1203.9, the department shall electronically submit a notice to the transferring court, and, if probation was transferred multiple times, to all other involved courts.

(7)  A person denied relief pursuant to this section may continue to be eligible for relief pursuant to law, including, but not limited to, Section 1203.4, 1203.4a, 1203.4b, or 1203.41. If the court subsequently grants relief pursuant to one of those sections, the court shall furnish a disposition report to the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 13151, stating that relief was granted pursuant to the applicable section, and the department shall grant relief pursuant to that section. If probation was transferred pursuant to Section 1203.9, the department shall electronically submit a notice that relief was granted pursuant to the applicable section to the transferring court and, if probation was transferred multiple times, to all other involved courts.

(c)  At the time of sentencing, the court shall advise a defendant, either orally or in writing, of the provisions of this section and of the defendant’s right, if any, to petition for a certificate of rehabilitation and pardon.

(d)  This section shall become operative on October 1, 2024.

Amendment history: Amended (as amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 444, Sec. 1) by Stats. 2024, Ch. 49, Sec. 5. (AB 168) Effective July 2, 2024. Operative October 1, 2024, by its own provisions.