77-40a-403. Retention and release of expunged records — Agencies.
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Terms Used In Utah Code 77-40a-403- Agency: means a state, county, or local government entity that generates or maintains records relating to an investigation, arrest, detention, or conviction for an offense for which expungement may be ordered. See Utah Code 77-40a-101
- Bureau: means the Bureau of Criminal Identification of the Department of Public Safety established in Section 53-10-201. See Utah Code 77-40a-101
- Conviction: means judgment by a criminal court on a verdict or finding of guilty after trial, a plea of guilty, or a plea of nolo contendere. See Utah Code 77-40a-101
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Person: means :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
- Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
| (a) |
The bureau, after receiving an expungement order, shall keep, index, and maintain all expunged records of arrests and convictions. |
| (b) |
Any agency, other than the bureau, receiving an expungement order shall develop and implement a process to identify and maintain an expunged record. |
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| (2) |
| (a) |
An agency shall provide an individual who receives an expungement with written confirmation that the agency has expunged all records of the offense for which the individual received the expungement if the individual requests confirmation from the agency. |
| (b) |
The bureau may charge a fee for providing a written confirmation under Subsection (2)(a) in accordance with the process in Section 63J-1-504. |
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| (3) |
| (a) |
An employee of the bureau, or any agency with an expunged record, may not divulge any information contained in the expunged record to any person or agency without a court order unless:
| (i) |
specifically authorized by statute; or |
| (ii) |
subject to Subsection (3)(b), the information in an expunged record is being shared with another agency through a records management system that both agencies use for the purpose of record management. |
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| (b) |
An agency with a records management system may not disclose any information in an expunged record with another agency or person that does not use the records management system for the purpose of record management. |
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| (4) |
The following entities or agencies may receive information contained in expunged records upon specific request:
| (a) |
the Board of Pardons and Parole; |
| (b) |
Peace Officer Standards and Training; |
| (c) |
federal authorities if required by federal law; |
| (d) |
the State Board of Education; |
| (e) |
the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, for purposes of investigating applicants for judicial office; and |
| (f) |
a research institution or an agency engaged in research regarding the criminal justice system if:
| (i) |
the research institution or agency provides a legitimate research purpose for gathering information from the expunged records; |
| (ii) |
the research institution or agency enters into a data sharing agreement with the court or agency with custody of the expunged records that protects the confidentiality of any identifying information in the expunged records; |
| (iii) |
any research using expunged records does not include any individual’s name or identifying information in any product of that research; and |
| (iv) |
any product resulting from research using expunged records includes a disclosure that expunged records were used for research purposes. |
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| (5) |
Except as otherwise provided by this section or by court order, a person, an agency, or an entity authorized by this section to view expunged records may not reveal or release any information obtained from the expunged records to anyone outside the specific request, including distribution on a public website. |
| (6) |
A prosecuting attorney may communicate with another prosecuting attorney, or another prosecutorial agency, regarding information in an expunged record that includes a conviction, or a charge dismissed as a result of a successful completion of a plea in abeyance agreement, for:
| (b) |
a domestic violence offense as defined in Section 77-36-1; |
| (c) |
an offense that would require the individual to register as a sex offender, as defined in Section 77-41-102; or |
| (d) |
a weapons offense under 5. |
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| (7) |
Except as provided in Subsection (9), a prosecuting attorney may not use an expunged record for the purpose of a sentencing enhancement or as a basis for charging an individual with an offense that requires a prior conviction. |
| (8) |
The bureau may also use the information in the bureau’s index as provided in Section 53-5-704. |
| (9) |
If, after obtaining an expungement, an individual is charged with a felony or an offense eligible for enhancement based on a prior conviction, the state may petition the court to open the expunged records upon a showing of good cause. |
| (10) |
| (a) |
For judicial sentencing, a court may order any records expunged under this chapter or Section 77-27-5.1 to be opened and admitted into evidence. |
| (b) |
The records are confidential and are available for inspection only by the court, parties, counsel for the parties, and any other person who is authorized by the court to inspect them. |
| (c) |
At the end of the action or proceeding, the court shall order the records expunged again. |
| (d) |
Any person authorized by this Subsection (10) to view expunged records may not reveal or release any information obtained from the expunged records to anyone outside the court. |
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| (11) |
Records released under this chapter are classified as protected under Section 63G-2-305 and are accessible only as provided under 2, and Subsection 53-10-108(2)(k) for records held by the bureau. |
Amended by Chapter 265, 2023 General Session
