Durham DA’s Office Working to Expunge Records of Teenagers Prosecuted as Adults

DURHAM, NC — The Durham County District Attorney’s Office has petitioned to proactively expunge more than 1,700 charges against teenagers who were prosecuted as adults before North Carolina raised the age of juvenile jurisdiction.

These petitions — which were granted by Superior Court Judge Josephine Kerr Davis between April 14 and April 20 — represent the first round of expunctions initiated by the Durham DA’s Office under the bipartisan Second Chance Act. Expunction petitions filed so far benefit nearly 300 individuals whose cases date from 1994 through 2018.

Prior to the passage of the Second Chance Act last year, district attorneys in North Carolina did not have the ability to seek an expunction on behalf of a juvenile charged as an adult. Among other provisions, the law allows district attorneys to petition the court for expunctions of misdemeanors, Class H felonies, and Class I felonies committed by teenagers 16 and 17-year-olds prior to December 2019, when North Carolina’s Raise the Age law shifted such offenses to the juvenile court system.

“In passing Raise the Age, our state rightfully recognized that the vast majority of young people do not belong in adult criminal court,” said Durham District Attorney Satana Deberry. “However, these individuals did not receive the benefit of that change to the law. Instead, the errors they made as teenagers became criminal records that have followed them into adulthood. Extending this record relief is the fair and just thing to do.”

“It is fitting that these expunctions have been granted during National Second Chance Month. All of these individuals have been held accountable. Yet, they are still shouldering the weight of these charges, including many that never resulted in a conviction, up to 25 years later. Long after a sentence has ended, a criminal record can continue to be an obstacle to housing, employment, scholarships, and opportunity,” Deberry said. “These expunctions will lift barriers to success for hundreds of people in our community.”

“Justice requires equity and fairness. For many of the people who would benefit most from record relief, seeking an expunction on their own is not easy,” said Kerr Davis. “Proactively expunging these eligible offenses ensures equal access to justice, regardless of a person’s ability to navigate complex expunction law, hire an attorney, or pay to file an expunction petition themselves.”

In total, there were 429 petitions granted, encompassing 1,748 charges against 276 individuals. Included in this group were:

•  Eligible Class H and I felony convictions in Durham County for offenses committed by teenagers 16 and 17 year-olds prior to December 1, 2019.

•  Eligible misdemeanor convictions from those same cases.

•  Other associated charges from the same cases that did not result in a conviction.

The majority of the offenses addressed were for property crimes. By far, the most common charge among the group was felony breaking and entering.

To be eligible for relief, a person must have completed the sentence for the offense at hand including any post-release supervision, must not owe restitution, and must not have a civil judgment for money owed. Under the law, a petition that meets the eligibility criteria must be granted.

Shortly after passage of the Second Chance Act, the Durham DA’s Office requested that the Administrative Office of the Courts identify eligible offenses in Durham County. The DA’s Office then sent letters to any victims in the cases to notify them about this process, explain the law, and give them an opportunity to be heard prior to the petitions being filed. The Durham County Clerk’s Office will notify everyone who receives an expunction by mail. In addition, the DA’s Office will send letters to notify each individual and refer them to the Durham Expunction and Restoration Program (DEAR) for additional assistance.

“Durham was already a leader in record relief through the transformative work of the DEAR Program, which has greatly expanded access to expunctions by providing free legal assistance,” said Kerr Davis. “Now, hundreds more residents will be able to receive expunctions through this new process under the Second Chance Act. I’m thankful to the DEAR staff who will be available to answer their questions and help them navigate any additional relief they may be eligible to receive under the law.”

“The Durham DA’s Office thanks the staff of the Administrative Office of the Courts for all their hard work to make this unprecedented relief possible,” Deberry said. “Going forward, we will review misdemeanor offenses eligible for expunction under the Second Chance Act and expect to file additional petitions.”

For more information about the intersection of the Second Chance Act and Raise the Age, visit nccriminallaw.sog.unc.edu/expunction-relief-for-doughnut-hole-youth/