A new rollout from two East metro Attorney's Offices is an example of a wider trend around the country of prosecutors taking a more compassionate approach to public safety.
"We are in the middle of a national conversation around criminal justice," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Like the dramatic shift in the way law enforcement and courts have responded to the crack epidemic versus opioids, there's a broader trend of attorney's offices across the U.S. appearing to transition from a more punitive, tough-on-crime approach.
"Our practices in the justice system need to account for reconciliation, rehabilitation and redemption," Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said.
And there's example of the compassionate approach locally: both Ramsey and Washington counties today launched HelpSealMyRecord.org, to make a once daunting, expensive, and lengthy expungement process accessible and streamlined online. Expungement is typically reserved for people who can hire private lawyers to navigate the complicated process. In Ramsey county in 2018, 187 people applied, with 120 using a lawyer.
After they serve their time, including probation and any applicable waiting periods, people can apply to seal their criminal records in accordance with existing Minnesota state law. It applies to mostly low-level drug and property offenses such as fifth-degree drug possession or sale, theft, receiving stolen property, damage to property, forgery crimes, issuing a dishonored check, financial transaction card fraud, and mail theft.
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Officials hope more people knowing about the law and website will help them acquire safe housing and jobs that they were barred from previously due to their records. That can in return help in reducing recidivism.
"Part of getting it right is I realized that there are a number of people walking around with a conviction from me that they can't get out from under," Washington County Attorney Pete Orput said. "And that doesn't feel fair. I'm all about fairness. That's what John (Choi) said, we're ministers of justice, we're about getting fairness. Now, we focus on victims, we focus on the people who have been ripped off. But there's also somebody else in that thing and I want to be fair to the defendants as well."
According to the FBI, one in three Americans has a criminal record. In 2017 in Minnesota, 18,288 were sentenced with a felony. Ellison says reckoning with the past is driving this change in approach...
"We used to have front-end loaders going through the walls of public housing," he said. "And we used to say that if you got a drug case, you couldn't get a student loan. Now we're saying, 'Did that really work? Was that the right policy?' It's healthy, it's good."
Orput, who has three decades of experience and admits to having a "minor reputation for being aggressive" as a prosecutor, understands there are misconceptions, especially amongst landlords and employers who depend on criminal background checks, or people who believe past behavior is an indication of future actions.
"I'd look at the landlord and say, 'Have you ever made a mistake in your life? Have you ever done something you wish you hadn't done? Ever in your life? 'Cause this guy did. And it was at least five years ago, more like eight or nine because they serve a long period of probation. He did. Does he ever get it behind him? Does he?'" Orput said using a fictional scenario. "And if the landlord says, 'No,' then maybe the guy doesn't want to live there. I'm really serious. I've had people who want to argue with me about this and they want to make it what it's not. They want to make it some kind of hug-a-thug."
Orput says prosecutors need to know the difference between the "miscreant" and the "person who's made an unfortunate mistake."
Choi and Orput hope more Minnesota counties follow their lead. Both offices have already been receiving applications on the first day.
Ellison's office is hosting an "expungement fair" from 11 to 1 Saturday at High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul.