Case Explained:This article breaks down the legal background, charges, and implications of Case Explained: Maine considers automatically sealing thousands of low-level criminal records • Maine Morning Star – Legal Perspective
When Maine began providing people with now-legal marijuana crimes a path to get their records sealed two years ago, it didn’t cost the state any additional money, to the initial confusion of many.
It was because the process, which requires someone to petition the court to seal their conviction if they meet the legal requirements, is rarely used.
That’s why some lawmakers, businesses, substance abuse and criminal justice advocates are instead pushing for an automatic process that would remove barriers within the current system, such as needing the time and knowledge to navigate the process on one’s own or hire an attorney to assist.
However, earlier attempts to adopt an automatic process have failed due to ongoing objections over potential First Amendment violations and administrative hurdles.
This type of change is often called a “clean slate” initiative. LD 1911, sponsored by Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Cumberland), would automatically seal eligible records for people who have completed their sentence and remained crime-free. The proposal would also expand the number of offenses eligible for record sealing generally, though fewer crimes would be eligible than Talbot Ross and other supporters initially wanted.
The amended version passed 8-4 by the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday removed any felony charges or convictions from eligibility. Instead, the bill would only seal misdemeanors, excluding several such as assault and sex offenses.
Thirteen states, both Democrat- and Republican-controlled, along with Washington, D.C., have passed “clean slate” legislation, with such laws varying in scope but with the overall aim to remove barriers to education, housing and employment once people have served their time.
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“Ultimately, what we want is for folks to have the ability for earned second chances,” said Tess Parks, policy director for the Maine Recovery Access Project (ME-RAP), a statewide organization focused on community and policy-based solutions to addiction.
Parks also served on Maine’s criminal records review committee, the body that recommended the state consider automatic record sealing for convictions involving marijuana that have since been decriminalized and further study of how to do so for other crimes.
Based on those recommendations, the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee is also considering four less comprehensive bills, though they’ve held off voting on the proposals before them until the final draft of LD 1911 is settled, said Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland), who co-chairs the Judiciary Committee.
Record sealing currently
In 2024, Maine began allowing people to apply to get their criminal histories for now-legal marijuana crimes sealed and removed the age-related prerequisite for sealing criminal history, building upon a 2022 law that established the state’s petition-based process for sealing certain criminal records. However, lawmakers rejected another proposal that would have automatically sealed criminal record information for marijuana-related crimes that are no longer illegal — for many of the same reasons there remains opposition to LD 1911.
Data shows that there’s been some increased use of the system since the state expanded eligibility and the criminal records review committee suggested the state more clearly highlight the process on the judicial branch website, though fewer people are still requesting records to be sealed than are eligible.
In 2023, 14 petitions for record sealing were filed statewide and eight were granted. In 2024, out of 47 petitions, 15 were granted. In 2025, 173 petitions were filed and 49 were granted. So far this year, 16 have been filed, with none granted so far but eight denied.
More Mainers are eligible to have their criminal records sealed
Talbot Ross said the low rate of acceptance “demonstrates that even a majority of these individuals attempting to seal their records, they’re not fully understanding the requirements for eligibility.”
In comparison, the automatic sealing bill is estimated to provide relief for more than 160,000 Mainers.
Offenses eligible for sealing
Before the committee vote, LD 1911 was amended to limit the types of crimes eligible for sealing. While initially proposing eligibility for Class B and C crimes, which are felony offenses, the narrowed bill excludes felonies and applies instead to most Class D and E misdemeanors.
“The decision to do that was not reached lightly,” Talbot Ross said.
As an example, Talbot Ross said it gives her angst that simple drug possession won’t be eligible for sealing under the amended version.
“That is a different matter that has different consequences, but it is not criminal activity in and of itself,” she said. “So, it pained me to not be able to protect those who have served their time [and] had a significant waiting period.”
Any assault, domestic violence, sex offense or charge for terrorizing, criminal threatening or restraint, or reckless conduct would be explicitly excluded. The bill would also seal non-conviction records, such as dismissed charges.
Despite all the victories and all the wins and all the effort I’ve put in to transform my life from the 21-year-old kid I was who committed that crime, I’m still discriminated against in every facet of my life.
Brandon Brown, who does criminal legal reform work and was formerly incarcerated, described having a criminal history as a life sentence — no matter how long a person is actually incarcerated — because of the barriers that follow once released.
“Right now, I’m struggling to find work because I have a felony,” said Brown, who is currently pursuing a PhD after completing his associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees while incarcerated. He was the first person in a Maine prison to receive an advanced degree.
“Despite all the victories and all the wins and all the effort I’ve put in to transform my life from the 21-year-old kid I was who committed that crime, I’m still discriminated against in every facet of my life,” Brown said. “If I try to find housing, it’s difficult. If I try to find work, it’s difficult. If I want to pursue a bunch of different opportunities, my criminal record is the thing that’s holding me back.”
The clean slate bill currently being considered wouldn’t affect Brown because of the type of felony he has, but he’s still advocating for it.
“My thought is that it shouldn’t impact you for life no matter who you are, especially if you’ve been out of the system for a sustained period of time and you’re a regular person at this point,” Brown said.
Objections
Law enforcement and court officials would be permitted to access sealed records as needed, Talbot Ross said, but background check companies would not.
“Criminal records will be sealed, not expunged or destroyed,” the senator added.
While she testified that courts can do individual reviews to determine if any information about a case can be released in compliance with the clean slate law if press or other interested parties request it, one of the key objections to automatic sealing is potential First Amendment violations.
Sigmund Schutz of Preti Flaherty — on behalf of the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition, New England First Amendment Coalition and Maine Press Association — pointed to First Circuit and Supreme Court precedent when making the case that LD 1911 would violate the U.S. Constitution.
It “imposes automatic restrictions on public access to criminal convictions without any case-by-case determinations by a judicial officer,” which courts have held is needed to determine “a compelling governmental interest sufficient to overcome the public’s First Amendment right of access to criminal proceedings.”
Schutz offered an alternative.
“If existing protections against criminal history discrimination are insufficient, then they could be broadened or penalties for discrimination could be made more severe,” Schutz said. “This would be a better alternative than automatically sealing entire categories of public judicial records.”
In her testimony, Judith Meyer of the Maine Press Association pointed to the conclusion of Maine’s criminal records review committee: that additional study was needed into the vulnerability of an automatic process to a challenge on constitutional grounds, as well as the administrative difficulties and costs of automatically sealing records.
“What is and remains difficult is the execution of some of what’s in this bill as it’s currently drafted,” Julie Finn of Maine’s Judicial Branch told the committee.
A key challenge is the branch’s ongoing implementation of the Enterprise Justice platform, which the state began implementing in 2021 to create a unified electronic case management system but has yet to complete.
Given the bill’s need to look retrospectively, Finn said, “We would need additional personnel in order to complete this without taking people out of courtrooms. As this committee knows already, we are short staffed with respect to the courts with respect to our clerk staff.”
Under the current proposal, automated record sealing would begin in 2028, with deadlines for record sealing staggered over several years after full implementation.
“I know the intent is to make this easy on the judicial branch and to have it be a 100% electronic process, but I just have to tell you that we’re not there yet,” Finn said.
Editor’s Note: Maine Press Association represents about 50 newspapers and digital news outlets in the state, including Maine Morning Star.