A statewide proposal to automatically expunge records of arrests that don?t lead to formal charges ? called a political football last year ? is now gaining momentum, officials said.
Members of the House of Delegates? judiciary committee Friday issued a favorable report on the bill, which criminal defense attorneys and advocates for the working poor called necessary for thousands of Baltimore residents who are arrested and released without charges each year.
“I?m ecstatic that it came out of committee and with bipartisan support,” said Del. Keith Haynes, D-Baltimore. “There is no resolution now for individuals caught in this gray area and they are victims.”
The committee removed a clause in Haynes? original proposal that required arrestees to sign a waiver promising not to file a lawsuit related to the incident. If enacted, the law will not be retroactive, but anyone arrested between 2004 and now could apply for expungement.
Del. Jill Carter, who supported the bill last year, described a major 2006 effort to block the bill as “political.” She said the issue points to a bigger problem with invalid arrests.
In 2005, Baltimore police arrested more than 98,800 adults and released 26,870 without charges, according to department statistics. That figure dropped about 29 percent in 2006.
“Baltimore City is the only jurisdiction that has mass arrests without charges,” Carter said. “And people were in denial that there were any unwarranted arrests.”
