In the past six months alone, 140 defendants in Clatsop County had their arrest and conviction records set aside.

A growing number of criminal defendants in Clatsop County are working to get their records sealed.

The increase comes two years after a state law expanded access to expungements, a legal process to clear the official record of a conviction, dismissed charge or arrest.

In the past six months alone, 140 defendants in the county had their arrest and conviction records set aside. In all of 2021, by comparison, fewer than 50 cases were set aside.

Passed with strong bipartisan support by the Oregon Legislature, the law, which took effect in January 2022, eliminated filing fees and greatly reduced wait times in an effort to give defendants more opportunity to put their pasts behind them.

“It’s an important part of the system, to give people a chance to move on with their lives after they’ve made mistakes,” said Judge Kirk Wintermute, a Circuit Court judge in Clatsop County. “And, hopefully, they’ve done what they needed to do to reintegrate with society fully and move on.”

Previously, defendants with a Class B felony that did not involve a person had to wait 20 years before being eligible for expungement. Defendants with Class C felonies and Class A misdemeanors, the most common cases for expungements in Oregon, had a 10-year waiting period.

Now, there is a seven-year waiting period for the Class B felonies, a five-year waiting period for Class C felonies and a three-year wait for Class A misdemeanors.

Class A felonies, felony crimes against people, almost all sex crimes and traffic convictions are ineligible for expungement, according to the state.

Defendants eligible for expungement must confirm that they’ve completed any sentence of incarceration or probation and have no pending criminal cases pending.

Defendants must get fingerprinted before completing an Oregon State Police form and a Motion to Set Aside form. After that, it’s up to the district attorney to object to the motion within 120 days , otherwise, the motion is granted by the court. If the district attorney does object, defendants can ask for a court hearing to review the motion.

“I used to do a lot of set-asides myself, and I can tell you it’s really changed the process of how these go through,” said Wintermute, a former defense attorney. “It’s made it a lot easier to get things set aside, and it’s also made the process a lot more accessible for people to get the set-aside done, because it’s dropped the filing fee.

“The forms make a lot more sense now, so it’s made it a lot easier for folks to do it on their own, too, without having to hire a lawyer.”

Courts are anticipating another increase in expungements once House Bill 4002 goes into effect this September. The new law rolls back portions of Measure 110 and recriminalizes possession of small amounts of illicit drugs.

Many counties, including Clatsop County, are developing deflection programs to steer defendants toward drug treatment instead of jail and court.

“For cases that don’t succeed in deflection, there’s a diversion component,” said Julie Vredeveld, the trial court administrator. “And with those cases, there’s an automatic set-aside after a certain period of time.”

Many defendants seeking expungement have had difficulty accessing housing and employment due to their criminal records.

“And so it’s a pretty big burden for folks, and sometimes they just want to move on with their lives and shut that door,” Wintermute said. “We get people who are expunging, you know, old MIPs (minor in possession) and things like that all the time from years ago. They just want to clear the record and be able to move forward.”