SUMMARY--Requires district attorney to cause notice of hearing on sealing of certain criminal records to be published. (BDR 14-879)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: Yes.
Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: No.
EXPLANATION - Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to special proceedings; requiring the district attorney to cause notice of a hearing on the sealing of certain criminal records to be published; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1 NRS 179.245 is hereby amended to read as follows:
179.245 1. Except as [other times and procedures are] otherwise provided in NRS 453.3365, a person who has been convicted of:
(a) Any felony may, after 15 years from the date of his conviction or, if he is imprisoned, from the date of his release from actual custody;
(b) Any gross misdemeanor may, after 10 years from the date of his conviction or release from custody;
(c) A violation of NRS 484.379 other than a felony may, after 7 years from the date of his conviction or release from custody; or
(d) Any other misdemeanor may, after 5 years from the date of his conviction or release from custody,
petition the court in which the conviction was obtained for the sealing of all records relating to the conviction. The petition must be accompanied by a current, certified record of the petitioner's criminal history received from the central repository for Nevada records of criminal history.
2. The court shall notify the district attorney of the county in which the conviction was obtained [,] and the district attorney shall cause a notice of the time and place of the hearing on the petition and the name of the petitioner to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least one time per week for at least 3 weeks before the hearing. The district attorney and any person having relevant evidence may testify and present evidence at the hearing on the petition.
3. If after the hearing the court finds that, in the period prescribed in subsection 1, the petitioner has not been arrested, except for minor moving or standing traffic violations, the court may order sealed all records of the conviction which are in the custody of the court, of another court in the State of Nevada or of a public or private agency, company or official in the State of Nevada, and may also order all such criminal identification records of the petitioner returned to the file of the court where the proceeding was commenced from, but not limited to, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California identification and investigation bureau, sheriffs' offices and all other law enforcement agencies reasonably known by either the petitioner or the court to have possession of such records.
Sec. 2 NRS 179.255 is hereby amended to read as follows:
179.255 1. A person who has been arrested for alleged criminal conduct, where the charges were dismissed or such person was acquitted of the charge, may after 30 days from the date the charges were dismissed or from the date of the acquittal petition the court in and for the county where such arrest was made for the sealing of all records relating to the arrest.
2. The court shall notify the district attorney of the county in which the arrest was made [,] and the district attorney shall cause a notice of the time and place of the hearing on the petition and the name of the petitioner to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least one time per week for at least 3 weeks before the hearing. The district attorney and any person having relevant evidence may testify and present evidence at the hearing on the petition.
3. If after hearing the court finds that there has been an acquittal or that the charges were dismissed and there is no evidence that further action will be brought against the person, the court may order sealed all records of the arrest and of the proceedings leading to the acquittal which are in the custody of the court, of another court in the State of Nevada or of a public or private company, agency or official in the State of Nevada.
Sec. 3 The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any additional expenses of a local government that are related to the provisions of this act.