In a consequential ruling, a three-judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that prior convictions and arrests for the sale of marijuana are eligible for expungement, a move that could impact thousands of individuals with marijuana-related records.
The decision clarifies the eligibility criteria under Proposition 207, which was passed in 2020. Previously, it was uncertain whether individuals charged with possession of marijuana-for-sale could have their records expunged.
âThe gist of it is, this decision expands on the expungement law and it clarifies that there are greater subset of a offenses that are now eligible for expungement,â said Martin Hutchins, an attorney and program manager for Reclaim Your Future Expungement Program, a state-funded expungement effort.
The ruling came in the case of State v. Sorensen, where Appeals Court Presiding Judge Brian Furuya concluded that Arizona Revised Statute permits the expungement of "sale-related marijuana offenses."
The decision overturned a lower court's denial of a petition for expungement submitted by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office on behalf of the litigant. The MCAO had filed a petition to expunge a 2014 conviction, which was initially denied due to the court's ruling that the offense was ineligible for expungement.
However, in this case, Judge Furuya reasoned that language contained within state statute passed as part of Prop. 207 âauthorizes expungement of sale-related marijuana offenses when they otherwise satisfy the statute's eligibility requirements. As a result, the court erred by denying the State's expungement petition."
Hutchins, whose group Reclaim Your Future holds clinics and fairs around the state to raise awareness about the existence of Arizonaâs expungement program for some marijuana offences and to help eligible applicants file their expungement paperwork, called the ruling an affirmation of the voter's will.
"Today's decision is a great embodiment of the will of the Arizona voters who elected to undo the harms caused by the over-policing of marijuana laws," Hutchins said.
Hutchins further highlighted the financial gains made by the state and the cannabis industry through marijuana sales, making it crucial for those charged in the past with sales-related offenses to benefit from expungement in the present.
"This will allow them to mitigate the generational impact of their involvement with the criminal legal system, which affects Black and Brown people and people of lower socioeconomic status at disproportionate rates," added Hutchins.
The passage of Proposition 207 in 2020 legalized adult recreational use of marijuana in Arizona and introduced a pathway to expungement.
In order to be eligible for expungement, applicants must have been possessing, consuming or transporting 2.5 ounces of marijuana or less; possessing, transporting and cultivating six or fewer marijuana plants for personal use; and possessing, using or transporting marijuana related paraphernalia.
Those maximums line up with what's currently allowable under state law for personal recreational marijuana consumption, possession and cultivation.
If you have any further questions about marijuana expungement, you can visit www.azexpunge.org to learn more.
