22^nd Mar 2021

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Recently, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed multiple bipartisan bills to expand Criminal Justice Reform in Michigan. The bills revamp the way many people with criminal convictions will be treated, including juveniles. While the new laws do not take effect right away, the future will be brighter for many individuals in the justice system.

House Bills 4488-4492 and Senate Bill 293 comprise the Good Moral Character Package, which will be effective April 4, 2021. These laws limit how a board or agency reviews occupational or professional license applications with respect to an applicant’s criminal convictions and/or civil judgments. A licensing board may consider judgments in civil actions as evidence of lack of good moral character only if more than one judgment in a civil action has been entered against that individual.

Additionally, a licensing board or agency can no longer “consider an individual’s criminal conviction, in and of itself, as conclusive proof of his or her lack of good moral character.” The board or agency will be limited to only consider certain felonies, for instance, a felony that has a direct and specific relationship to the activities authorized by the license or a conviction that indicates the individual would be a risk to public safety. Additionally, a board can consider a conviction for an offense that would make the individual more likely to commit the same offense again if they were granted the license.

In recognizing that certain licenses relating to vulnerable children and adults must be safeguarded, the bill sponsors left in place certain protections regarding licenses relating to child care organizations, nursing homes, and adult foster care facilities. A licensing board may consider any criminal conviction as evidence in the determination of character for these types of licenses. Additionally, the new laws to not affect a judgment of good moral character of a State Bar applicant seeking a law license. The Board of Law examiners will continue to make those determinations as it sees fit.

Senate Bills 681 and 682 comprise the Clean Slate for Kids Package, which take effect July 3, 2021 and March 24, 2021, respectively. These bills change juvenile criminal justice laws by broadening potential expungement of certain juvenile records for non-repeat offenders and sealing juvenile court records from the public.

Bill 681 creates a mechanism for certain juvenile convictions, including some traffic offenses, to be set aside automatically without having to make an application. Such a conviction will be set aside 2 years after the termination of court supervision or when the person turns 18, whichever is later. The law limits the types of offenses that can be automatically expunged. For instance, a juvenile is not eligible for crimes involving weapons or serious assaultive crimes. However, a wide variety of offenses will no longer necessitate a lengthy process to set aside convictions.

Bill 682 restricts public access to juvenile case records. As of January 1, 2021, records of a case brought before the court are no longer open to the general public. Rather, they are open only to persons having a legitimate interest. Persons having a legitimate interest include the juvenile, his or her parents, a legal guardian, the juvenile’s attorney, law enforcement personnel, and other individuals actually involved in the case. Only the persons with a legitimate interest will have access to court filings and court hearings.

All of these bills will assist folks with a blemish in their past from being forever affected by previous mistakes. There is every indication that the governor and Michigan lawmakers will continue to revamp the criminal justice system to bring it into the 21st century.

Written By Beier Howlett

Michigan Criminal Justice Reform

248|645-9400

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