State to Review PAULA Expungment
The Iowa Legislature is reviewing a bill which would allow those convicted of Possession of Alcohol Under the Legal Age (PAULA) to apply to have their convictions expunged.
The procedure would be nearly identical to the current law which allows defendants convicted of Public Intoxication to expunge their records.
Those convicted of PAULA would be required to avoid any criminal convictions (aside from Iowa traffic tickets) for two years following the date of the conviction. After this period has passed, they would need to petition the court to have the charge expunged.
This is an excellent bill, which would help young people become conviction-free by the time they graduate.
There is also no risk of “violating probation” that would accompany a deferred judgment. If a defendant commits a new violation, there is no probation to be revoked and the court does not need to get involved. The only penalty is that the defendant would not have the option to petition the court for expungment.
5 Responses to “State to Review PAULA Expungment”
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No way that last sentence is accurate. No new law is being created therefore the expungement would include any PAULA conviction from any year.
“would likely be i” what does that mean? where is the rest of the story?
The last statement, I believe is inaccurate. The expungement law will apply to anyone convicted of a PAULA in the state of Iowa ever in the past.
The “new” law basically adds this sentence among others:
“Under the bill, two years after conviction for possessing, purchasing,or attempting to purchase alcohol under legal age or under a similar local ordinance,….(then petitition)”
Key word is “similar local ordinance”, to me, this means that this bill is allowing expungement of any under-legal-age offense in the state of iowa under this law or similar laws (including the old law expiring July 1 2010)
I think they mean this state law to apply to similar city ordinances. For example, most Iowa City Paulas are not prosecuted under the state statute of Iowa Code §123.47, but as a violation of Iowa City Code 4-5-4. This would force Iowa City to follow the state’s new statute.
Of course, either way once/if this law is passed I would read the final version and see how the local judges intend to interpret it. I certainly hope you are right.
Jimmy John (not the sandwich) – I think you are right. The new law will be in effect on July 1, and sources are saying that old convictions may be eligible for expungment. Either way, we’ll put it before the local judges and see what their interpretation is.