New law lets Pennsylvanians hide some old criminal records

Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa.

Pennsylvania residents with minor criminal convictions that are at least a decade old have begun applying to seal those cases from public view under a new state law.

Interest has varied widely, with more than 1,000 people attending a set of free legal clinics on the law last weekend in Philadelphia but only one applicant filing the paperwork in heavily populous York County, for a criminal mischief conviction. Dauphin County, which includes Harrisburg, has yet to field its first such request, a court official said Friday.

The law, which took effect Nov. 14, nine months after it was enacted, pertains to less serious misdemeanors such as trespassing or vandalism. There is a $132 fee, any punishment must have been completed and the defendant must have remained arrest-free for a decade.

The record would remain accessible to law enforcement but not to the wider public and would not appear in the state courts’ online records. If the offense was accompanied by more-serious charges, they would still be public. District attorneys can object to any request, and the final decisions rest with judges.