H0071 failed on a vote of 33(aye) -34 (nay) -3 (absent) today. The Bill would have amended I.C. 19-2604 to add: "Any action taken by a court pursuant to this section shall not result in the expungement of the defendant's criminal record, as defined in section 67-3001(4), Idaho Code."As previously noted, the Bill's Statement of Purpose claimed that it was intended to "clarify that Idaho Code 19-2604 is not an 'expungement' statute." The SOP further stated that"[n]otwithstanding the plain language of [the statute], the Idaho State Police have received orders purporting to expunge information, which is not authorized by statute."
I take this to mean that if we can get expungement orders from the Court, the ISP will have to comply. Hooray! To paraphrase Brian Elkins: Maybe 19-2604 is an expungement statute after all. I think we can use this to support an argument that the Legislature intends for 19-2604 to provide for full expungement or, at least, does not prohibit the Court from doing so.
That is an amazing turn of events: I fully expected that the H.B. 71 would pass. To follow up on what Dennis says, the statement of purpose to the 1989 amendment clearly shows the legislative intent was to allow for expungement under I.C. Section 19-2604. The Idaho Court of Appeals agrees with that in State v. Dorn, 140 Idaho 404, where it writes: "The comment [Statement of Purpose]that the then-existing law allowed that a conviction be "expunged" expresses the legislative understanding that relief under [19-2604(1)] constituted an expungement." In the 2006 amendment to the statute, in the Statement of Purpose and committee minutes, there is no intent to take away the ability of a court to expunge. All of the supporting legislative history is posted on the IACDL web site and further info will be provided at the IACDL Seminar on March 6, 2009 at Sun Valley. Brian Elkins
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