Senate Study Bill 3212
SENATE FILE
BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON
JUDICIARY BILL BY
CHAIRPERSON KREIMAN)
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to deferred judgment criminal records.
2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
3 TLSB 5972SC 82
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 907.4, Code 2007, is amended to read as
1 2 follows:
1 3 907.4 DEFERRED JUDGMENT DOCKET.
1 4 1. A deferment of judgment under section 907.3 shall be
1 5 entered promptly by the clerk of the district court, or the
1 6 clerk's designee, into the deferred judgment database of the
1 7 state, which shall serve as the deferred judgment docket. The
1 8 deferred judgment docket shall be maintained by the state
1 9 court administrator and shall not be destroyed. The docket
1 10 shall contain a permanent record of the deferred judgment
1 11 including the name and date of birth of the defendant, the
1 12 district court docket number, the nature of the offense, and
1 13 the date of the deferred judgment. Before granting deferred
1 14 judgment in any case, the court shall search the deferred
1 15 judgment docket and shall consider any prior record of a
1 16 deferred judgment against the defendant.
1 17 2. The permanent record provided for in this section
1 18 subsection 1 is a confidential record exempted from public
1 19 access under section 22.7 and shall be available only to
1 20 justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of appeals,
1 21 district judges, district associate judges, judicial
1 22 magistrates, clerks of the district court, judicial district
1 23 departments of correctional services, county attorneys, and
1 24 the department of corrections requesting information pursuant
1 25 to this section, or the designee of a justice, judge,
1 26 magistrate, clerk, judicial district department of
1 27 correctional services, or county attorney, or department.
1 28 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 907.4A EXPUNGED CRIMINAL RECORDS OF
1 29 THE COURT == ACCESS.
1 30 After the clerk of the district court has promptly entered
1 31 the portions of the court's criminal record into the deferred
1 32 judgment database as required under section 907.4, the clerk
1 33 of the district court shall expunge the court's entire
1 34 criminal record of the deferred judgment by segregating the
1 35 record into a separate area or database. The court's entire
2 1 criminal record of the deferred judgment shall be considered a
2 2 confidential record exempt from public access under section
2 3 22.7 but shall be made available by the clerk of the district
2 4 court, upon request and without court order, to the agencies
2 5 or persons granted access to the deferred judgment docket
2 6 under section 907.4, subsection 2.
2 7 Sec. 3. Section 907.9, subsection 4, Code 2007, is amended
2 8 to read as follows:
2 9 4. At the expiration of the period of probation and if the
2 10 fees imposed under sections 815.9 and 905.14 have been paid or
2 11 on condition that unpaid supervision fees be paid, the court
2 12 shall order the discharge of the person from probation, and
2 13 the court shall forward to the governor a recommendation for
2 14 or against restoration of citizenship rights to that person.
2 15 A person who has been discharged from probation shall no
2 16 longer be held to answer for the person's offense.
2 17 4A. Upon discharge from probation, if judgment has been
2 18 deferred under section 907.3, the court's criminal record with
2 19 reference to the deferred judgment shall be expunged as
2 20 provided in section 907.4A. The record maintained by the
2 21 state court administrator as required by section 907.4 shall
2 22 not be expunged. The court's record shall not be expunged in
2 23 any other circumstances unless otherwise authorized by law.
2 24 EXPLANATION
2 25 This bill relates to deferred judgment criminal records.
2 26 The bill provides that after the clerk of the district
2 27 court has promptly entered the portions of the court's
2 28 criminal record into the deferred judgment database as
2 29 required under Code section 907.4, the clerk of the district
2 30 court shall expunge the court's entire criminal record of the
2 31 deferred judgment by segregating the record of the deferred
2 32 judgment into a separate area or database.
2 33 Under the bill, the court's entire criminal record of the
2 34 deferred judgment segregated into a separate area or database
2 35 shall be considered a confidential record exempt from public
3 1 access under Code section 22.7 but shall be made available by
3 2 the clerk of the district court, upon request and without
3 3 court order, to the agencies or persons granted access to the
3 4 deferred judgment docket under Code section 907.4.
3 5 Currently, the court's criminal record relating to a
3 6 deferred judgment is expunged, but a record of the deferred
3 7 judgment is made permanent. The permanent record under
3 8 current law includes the name and date of birth of the
3 9 defendant, the district court docket number, the nature of the
3 10 offense, and the date of the deferred judgment.
3 11 The bill strikes a provision in Code section 907.9
3 12 requiring the state court administrator to maintain deferred
3 13 judgment records and moves the provision to Code section
3 14 907.4.
3 15 The bill also provides that the court's record shall not be
3 16 expunged unless otherwise authorized by law. Current law
3 17 authorizes criminal records to be expunged under Code sections
3 18 123.46, 321.211A, and 321.385A.
3 19 LSB 5972SC 82
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