§ 16–807. Effect of sealing of criminal records.

(a) The effect of criminal record sealing shall be to remove all records related to a citation, arrest, charge, prosecution, disposition, or conviction from public view and to permit restricted, nonpublic access by specific parties for specific purposes.

(b) No person as to whom criminal record sealing relief has been granted shall be held thereafter under any provision of law to be guilty of perjury or otherwise giving a false statement by reason of failure to recite or acknowledge or disclose that citation, arrest, charge, prosecution, disposition, or conviction, in response to any inquiry made of them for any purpose.

(c) If the Court orders that a criminal record be sealed:

(1) The Clerk and each prosecutor and law enforcement, corrections, pretrial, and community supervision agency shall:

(A) Eliminate from all publicly available physical and computerized records any references that identify the person as having been cited, arrested, prosecuted, or convicted;

(B) Be entitled to retain records relating to the person's citation, arrest, prosecution, and conviction in a nonpublic, restricted access file; and

(C) Reply in response to public inquiries concerning the existence of the records that no records are available;

(2) Each prosecutor and law enforcement, corrections, pretrial, and community supervision agency shall file a certification with the Court within 90 days after an order to seal is issued that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, all references that identify the person as having been cited, arrested, prosecuted, or convicted have been sealed;

(3) The Clerk shall:

(A) Retain a nonpublic record, appropriately and securely indexed to protect its confidentiality, containing records retrieved pursuant to this section and the certifications filed pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection; and

(B) Make reasonable efforts to provide a copy of the order to seal and the certifications filed pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection to the person who was cited, arrested, charged, or convicted, or their counsel:

(i) When the Court issues the order;

(ii) When the certifications are filed pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection; and

(iii) At any time, upon proper identification, without a showing of need;

(4) In a case involving co-defendants in which the Court orders the person's criminal records be sealed, the Court shall order, to the extent practicable:

(A) That only those records, or portions thereof, relating solely to the person be redacted;

(B) That the person's name be redacted from records that are not sealed; and

(C) The redaction of references to the person that appear in a transcript of court proceedings involving co-defendants; and

(5) The Court shall not be required to order the redaction of the person's name from any published opinion of the trial or appellate courts that refer to the person.

(d)(1) Records retained in a nonpublic file pursuant to this section shall only be available to:

(A) The person who was cited, arrested, charged, or convicted, or their counsel;

(B) A prosecutor, defense attorney, law enforcement, corrections, pretrial, or community supervision agency, for any lawful purpose, including:

(i) Investigating, prosecuting, or defending another criminal case;

(ii) Complying with disclosure obligations in another criminal case;

(iii) Determining the person's suitability for diversion, release, sentencing reduction, sealing, or expungement in another case;

(iv) The determination of conditions of release for a subsequent arrest;

(v) The determination of whether a person has committed a second or subsequent offense for charging or sentencing purposes;

(vi) Determining an appropriate sentence if the person is subsequently convicted of another crime;

(vii) Employment decisions;

(viii) Sex offender registration and notification;

(ix) Gun offender registration; or

(x) In determining whether a person has been in possession of a firearm in violation of § 22-4503;

(C) Except for records sealed pursuant to § 16-806(a)(2), a person or entity identified in § 16-801(5)(D), (E), or (F), but only to the extent that such records would have been available to that person or entity before relief was granted. Such records may be used for any lawful purpose, including:

(i) The determination of whether a person is eligible to be licensed in a particular trade or profession; or

(ii) Employment decisions; and

(D) Other persons or entities for the purpose of:

(i) Use in civil litigation related to the citation, charge, arrest, or conviction; or

(ii) Upon order of the Court for good cause shown, such as anonymized records for academic or journalistic purposes.

(2) A request for access to or to disclose sealed records may be made ex parte and may be granted for good cause shown.

(3) If the Court permits a requestor to access or disclose sealed records, the Court and the requestor shall take all reasonable measures to ensure that the records are secure and that the contents are not identifiably disclosed, published, or redistributed, such as by issuing a protective order or electronically limiting access to verified viewers.

(4) A person, upon making inquiry of the Court concerning the existence of criminal records involving an individual, shall be entitled to rely, for any purpose under the law, upon the clerk's response that no records are available with respect to any issue about that person's knowledge of the individual's record.