Oregon’s New Bill Aims to Wipe Juvenile Records Clean with Easier Expungements
House Bill 2677 was introduced on Tuesday, seeking to make qualifying juvenile record expungements easier.
Oregon Bill Seeks To Help Remove Juvenile Criminal Records More Easily
State Rep. Willy Chotzen, D-Portland, a public defender, former middle school teacher, and sponsor of House Bill 2677, said only 3% to 7% of those now eligible to expunge their juvenile records ask to erase them from the court system.
He believes they either don’t know that they can request expungements or they don’t know how to apply.
The bill proposes that county juvenile departments automatically submit an application to expunge someone’s juvenile criminal record for both misdemeanors and felonies either four years after the youth has completed probation or a sentence or when the person turns 18. But this could only be done if the person:
- Has no other juvenile or adult convictions for a felony for the most serious class of misdemeanors during those four years,
- Has no pending court cases, and
- Is not the subject of an active investigation and doesn’t owe outstanding restitution.
- Juveniles of violent misdemeanors who face four-year restrictions barring gun possession as adults would have to complete the ban before they could apply for expungement.
At the moment, County juvenile departments only submit expungement applications on behalf of people convicted of violations or misdemeanors as juveniles or people who had some contact with the juvenile justice system but were never charged.
Those convicted of felonies as a juvenile apply for expungement of that record four years after their juvenile court supervision ended themselves.
The bill doesn’t change who is eligible or when someone becomes eligible but changes the process. Expungements still wouldn’t be allowed for:
- Juveniles convicted under a mandatory minimum sentence,
- Juveniles prosecuted as an adult,
- People convicted as juveniles of serious violent crimes, including murder, aggravated murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, first-degree assault or kidnapping, and most sex crimes.
House Bill 2677 also amends 2021 and 2023 juvenile expungement legislation to give victims earlier notification of expungement requests and more opportunity for prosecutors to review expungement applications.
According to state data, when people had to file their own expungement applications, the court system received about 200 petitions annually.
In 2024, the first year that the juvenile departments were responsible for expungement applications, county juvenile departments filed over 1,000 petitions for the expungement of juvenile misdemeanor convictions and violations.
If the bill is passed, the number of expungement petitions has been estimated to increase by 600 or more cases annually.