[Download] "State v. Breazeale" by Supreme Court of Wyoming * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: State v. Breazeale
- Author : Supreme Court of Wyoming
- Release Date : January 22, 2000
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 61 KB
Description
We reverse a superior court order denying a motion to hold the Washington State Patrol in contempt for defying the courts order to expunge decades-old criminal records. Both appellants were convicted, and their convictions dismissed, before implementation of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981 (SRA). Trial judges are authorized to expunge criminal records for pre-SRA convictions under RCW 9.95.240, and for post-SRA convictions under RCW 9.94A.230. The SRA version of the statute permits the court to vacate the information; the pre-SRA statute permits dismissal of the information. This, the State contends, precludes the court from sealing pre-SRA conviction records. We, however, can discern no functional or practical distinction between the two statutes, at least as applied to Randy Breazeale and Sheila Berlanga-Hernandez. We conclude that both statutes authorize sealing of criminal records and narrowly limit their future use, notwithstanding an arguably contrary provision of the Washington State Criminal Records Privacy Act, RCW 10.97.030.