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Ohio SB66 Gives Hope

Posted on: November 17, 2018 | by: admin

Ohio Senate Bill 66

The Ohio state legislature has once again expanded the eligibility requirements for expungement of convictions in Ohio. As of October 29th, the legal statutes for record expungement will make convictions that were previously ineligible, eligible for expungement. This bill gives hope to thousands of people who were previously ineligible, allowing them to seal their past mistakes and move on with life.

Expanding the number of convictions

Prior to the statute change, Ohio eligibility was limited by the number of convictions that an individual could have sealed. Senate Bill 66 allows a unlimited misdemeanors and up to 5 felonies (F4 or F5 only). The only exception to the expanded eligibility is that these convictions cannot be sex offenses or offenses of violence.

Changes to the waiting period

With the changes to the eligibility requirements, the Ohio legislature also updated the waiting period for each conviction type. Here is a before and after to demonstrate the new waiting period requirements.

Old Waiting Period	New SB66 Waiting Period
Unclassified Misdemeanor – 1 Year Misdemeanor Conviction – 1 Year Felony Conviction – 3 Years	Misdemeanor Convictions – 1 Year (this applies regardless of the number of misdemeanor convictions) Bail Forfeiture in Misdemeanor Cases – 1 Year 1 Felony Conviction – 3 Years 2 Felony Convictions – 4 Years 3-5 Felony Convictions – 5 Years

Under the new law, individuals will be eligible 1-5 years from the discharge date of their final conviction. So if a person has 3 convictions (2 misdemeanors and 1 felony) and conviction #3 is a felony, they would be eligible 3 years from the discharge date of conviction #3.

Take advantage of SB66

The new statute changes can provide relief to individuals who have previously been disqualified from sealing their record(s). These changes will create confusion as judges and legal team learn the new laws and how to accurately interpret. Don’t take a chance navigating the SB66 changes alone. You can depend on our team to represent you and make sure your expungement process is done right.

You can read more about Senate Bill 66 (SB 66) to see if you are now eligible.

Are you ready to find out if you are eligible? Take are free online consultation to get started.