National News
Gun owners whose criminal records are not fully expunged may fall into 'legal trap ready to snap'
June 23, 2015 posted by Steve Brownstein
An expungement order by a Utah judge might not mean a clean slate where the federal government is involved, a defense attorney told a legislative panel Wednesday afternoon.
Mitch Vilos, a defense attorney who also specializes in gun rights issues, said Utahns who successfully petition courts to "cleanse" their criminal records and believe they are eligible to purchase or possess a firearm may inadvertently run afoul of federal law.
Some federal agencies may not recognize an expungement order issued by a Utah court because the criminal records may still be available to them, Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, told the Utah Legislature's Judicial Interim Committee.
Vilos said if federal marshals come across such a person in possession of a firearm, they could be charged for federal violations punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
“It’s a terrible, hidden legal trap waiting to snap and have somebody indicted for a federal felony," Vilos said.
Greene is proposing that the Legislature change the definition of expunge in state law from "seal or restrict access" to "completely remove from a law enforcement agency's records the petitioner's record when the record includes any reference to a criminal investigation, detention, arrest or conviction," draft legislation states.
"Anything less than that is very questionable, and (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) counsel tells me they’re not going to recognize them," Vilos said.
Hundreds or thousands of Utahns could be affected by the issue, Vilos said, noting that the federal government does not, itself, define "expungement." In Utah, some criminal convictions can never be expunged, such as a capital felony, first-degree felonies, violent felonies, automobile homicide, felony driving under the influence or a registerable sex offense.
But after certain time periods, lesser convictions can be expunged or people can seek to have some felony convictions reduced to misdemeanors, which can help them with employment or housing.
The draft legislation discussed Wednesday addresses only access to the records by other law enforcement agencies, Greene said.
"That became necessary because of federal agencies’ treatment of our records," he said.
The committee took no action on the bill.
