Governing: Pennsylvania Begins Unprecedented Sealing of Millions of Criminal Records
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States around the country are watching the rollout in Pennsylvania, said Jenna Moll of Justice Action Network, a bipartisan criminal-justice reform advocacy organization. Utah became the second state to enact its own automated sealing bill this year. She anticipates the scale of the automatic sealing -- estimated by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts at more than 2 million records per month over the next year -- will draw attention from lawmakers considering such legislation, from California to the U.S. Capitol.
"It is a game-changer not only for the individuals, but for the states as well: It's less bureaucracy, less red tape," she said. "A lot of states are looking not only at the automation, but also at the bipartisan way Pennsylvania got this done."