§ 16–806. Sealing of criminal records by motion.
(a) The Court shall order the sealing of all criminal records and court proceedings related to:
(1) Citations, arrests, and charges for the commission of a criminal offense; provided, that:
(A) The case was terminated by the prosecutor or otherwise reached a final disposition and did not result in a conviction or acquittal pursuant to § 24-501;
(B) The offense is an offense listed in § 16-805(b); and
(C) The person cited, arrested, or charged files a written motion demonstrating, by a preponderance of the evidence, that it is in the interests of justice to seal the records;
(2) Citations, arrests, and charges only for being a fugitive from justice; provided, that:
(A) The person was arrested in the District as a fugitive from justice;
(B) The person waived an extradition hearing pursuant to § 23-702(f)(1) and was released pursuant to § 23-702(f)(2) or detained pursuant to § 23-702(f)(3);
(C) The fugitive case was terminated by the prosecutor or otherwise reached a final disposition; and
(D) The person cited, arrested, or charged files a written motion demonstrating, by a preponderance of the evidence, that:
(i) They have appeared before the proper official in the jurisdiction from which they were a fugitive; and
(ii) It is in the interests of justice to seal the records; and
(3) Citations, arrests, charges, and convictions for the commission of a criminal offense that resulted in a conviction; provided, that:
(A)(i) For a misdemeanor offense, a waiting period of at least 5 years has elapsed since completion of the sentence; and
(ii) For a felony offense, a waiting period of at least 8 years has elapsed since completion of the sentence; except, that an offense in Offense Severity Group 1, 2, or 3 of the Master Grid, developed by the District of Columbia Sentencing Commission, at the time of the effective date of the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022, passed on 2nd reading on December 20, 2022 (Enrolled version of Bill 24-63) [March 10, 2023], shall not be eligible for sealing; and
(B) The person cited, arrested, charged, or convicted files a written motion demonstrating, by a preponderance of the evidence, that it is in the interests of justice to seal the records.
(b)(1) The Court shall grant a motion to seal pursuant to subsection (a) of this section if it is in the interests of justice to do so.
(2) In making a determination to grant a motion to seal, the Court:
(A) Shall weigh:
(i) The interests of the movant in sealing the publicly available records of their citations, charges, arrests, or convictions;
(ii) The community's interest in furthering the movant's rehabilitation and enhancing the movant's reintegration into society through education, employment, and housing; and
(iii) The community's interest in retaining access to those records, including the interest of current or prospective employers in making fully informed hiring or job assignment decisions and the interest in promoting public safety; and
(B) May consider:
(i) The nature and circumstances of the offense;
(ii) The movant's role in the offense or alleged offense;
(iii) The history and characteristics of the movant, including the movant's:
(I) Character;
(II) Physical and mental condition;
(III) Employment history;
(IV) Prior and subsequent conduct;
(V) History relating to substance abuse or dependence and treatment opportunities;
(VI) Criminal history; and
(VII) Efforts at rehabilitation;
(iv) The time that has elapsed since the offense;
(v) Any statement made by the victim of the offense;
(vi) The position of the prosecutor, if any; and
(vii) Any other information it considers relevant.
(c)(1) A motion to seal filed pursuant to this section:
(A) Shall state:
(i) All of the movant's unsealed and unexpunged citations, arrests, charges, and convictions, as reasonably known to the movant;
(ii) The grounds upon which eligibility for sealing is based; and
(iii) Facts in support of the movant's claim; and
(B) May be accompanied by a statement of points and authorities in support of the motion, and any appropriate exhibits, affidavits, and supporting documents.
(2)(A) If the Court determines that the motion filed pursuant to this section does not comply with the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection, the movant shall have 30 days after being notified by the Court of the noncompliance to amend their original motion to include all of their citations, arrests, charges, and convictions.
(B) If the movant fails to amend their original motion within 30 days after notification by the Court, then the motion shall be dismissed without prejudice.
(d) A copy of the motion and any amended motion shall be served upon the prosecutor; provided, that the prosecutor shall not be required to respond to the motion unless ordered to do so by the Court.
(e) The waiting periods in subsection (a)(3)(A) of this section may be waived by the prosecutor in writing.
(f)(1) If the movant files a motion to seal a record that is not in the Court database or a record and related court proceedings that are not in a publicly available database, the motion to seal and responsive pleadings shall not be available publicly.
(2) If the Court grants a motion to seal, it shall order that the motion and responsive pleadings be sealed to the same extent and in the same manner as the records pertaining to the record and related court proceedings.
(3) If the Court denies a motion to seal, the Court, the United States Attorney's Office, the Office of the Attorney General, and the law enforcement agency that arrested the movant shall be entitled to retain any and all records relating to the motion in a nonpublic file.
(g) A person to whom a District arrest has been attributed, who attests under oath that the person was incorrectly identified or named, may file a motion to correct publicly available records of the arrest if the law enforcement agency did not take fingerprints at the time of the arrest and no other form of reliable identification was presented by the person who was arrested.
(h) A movant shall not be required to:
(1) Satisfy the waiting periods in subsection (a)(3)(A) of this section with respect to all of the movant's citations, arrests, charges, and convictions; or
(2) Seek relief with respect to all the arrests, charges, or convictions eligible for relief.
(i)(1) If it plainly appears from the face of the motion, any accompanying exhibits, affidavits, and documents, and the record of any prior proceedings in the case, that the movant is not eligible for relief or not entitled to relief, the Court may dismiss or deny the motion.
(2) If the motion is not dismissed or denied after initial review, the Court:
(A) Shall determine whether a hearing on the motion is required; and
(B) May:
(i) Order the prosecutor to file a response to the motion; and
(ii) Set a deadline by which the response shall be filed.
(3) At any hearing on the motion, the movant and the prosecutor may present witnesses and information by proffer or otherwise. Hearsay evidence shall be admissible.
(4) An order dismissing, granting, or denying the motion shall be:
(A) In writing and include reasons for the decision.;
(B) A final order for purposes of appeal; and
(C) Issued no later than 180 days after the motion is filed, unless there exists good cause for delay.
(5) A motion made pursuant to this section may be dismissed without prejudice to permit the movant to renew the motion after further passage of time.
(6) If the Court denies the motion, the Court shall entertain a second motion no sooner than one year after the date on which the order on the initial motion was resolved. If the Court denies the movant's second motion, the Court shall entertain a third and final motion no sooner than one year after the date on which the order on the second motion was resolved.
(j) Criminal records and court proceedings related to citations, arrests, charges, and convictions sealed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be sealed within 90 days after a motion to seal is granted.
