Opinion
71 CR 397
June 7, 2004
This is an old case. Defendant was accused of stealing four tires from an interstate shipment of freight. He pled guilty to the theft of one tire and the government dropped the charge on the other three. Judge Joseph Sam Perry accepted the plea and gave him two years probation. Now, more than thirty years later, defendant asks for expungement "so that 1 may get a better job and seek a career."
There is no federal statute that allows for expungement of criminal records in general and no specific statute that would apply here. There is some law that finds the power to do this to be an inherent power of the court. See United States v. Pinto, 1 F.3d 1069 (10th Cir. 1993) 1 think our Court of Appeals would find this power to exist with respect to convictions, perhaps not even with respect to arrests. See United States v, Janik, 10 F.3d 470 (7th Cir. 1993) Were there to be such a doctrine, it would not be appropriate to apply it here. The reported cases generally reject as good grounds for expunction the claim that it ought to be done so that defendant can put it behind him or "get on with his life" or "has been punished enough." Based on the skeletal claim here, there is no ground for expunging a conviction the validity of which is not questioned.
The defendant is free to write to the Pardon Attorney at:
Samuel T. Morison, Attorney Advisor Office of the Pardon Attorney Fourth Floor, 500 First Street, N.W. Department of Justice Washington, DC 20530-0001
A pardon may do him a lot more good than an expungement, and the Pardon Attorney can inquire more readily into the details of defendant's life after conviction. In any event, if there is a pardon, it would strengthen his argument for expungement if it turns out this Court has the power to award it.
The motion to expunge is denied.