VIDEO: NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman recently spoke to WGME in Portland about the bill and why it should be opposed.
The New England First Amendment Coalition and several local media advocates are opposing a bill that would automatically seal many criminal records in Maine.
Rather than requiring judges to make sealing decisions on a case-by-case basis, LD 1911 would result in the categorical sealing of certain criminal records regardless of circumstances and after an arbitrary period of time.
This legislation is rife with “grave constitutional problems,” wrote NEFAC, the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition, Maine Press Association and the Maine Association of Broadcasters in a Feb. 3 letter to the state’s Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary.
The letter — drafted by attorney and NEFAC board member Sigmund Schutz at Preti Flaherty — explains that the “primary argument in favor of LD 1911 is that automatic sealing is necessary to promote rehabilitation and re-entry into society of defendants convicted of a crime. But that interest can be served by requiring judges to make sealing decisions on a case-by-case basis, after weighing all competing considerations.”
Those considerations include the number and type of conviction, the person’s record and activities following conviction and whether the person who has been convicted is a public figure or public officer.
In addition, NEFAC and its partners argued, “a seal may not always be desired by a defendant, who might want to use public records to dispel rumors or set the record straight — something that can occur if a third-party background check service, for example, reports inaccurate information.”
NEFAC is the region’s leading advocate for First Amendment freedoms and the public’s right to know about government. Learn more about the coalition’s work and read about its recent advocacy.
NEFAC was formed in 2006 to advance and protect the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment, including the principle of the public’s right to know. We’re a broad-based organization of people who believe in the power of an informed democratic society. Our members include lawyers, journalists, historians, academics and private citizens.
Our coalition is funded through contributions made by those who value the First Amendment and who strive to keep government accountable. Please make a donation here.
NEFAC appreciates the support of all its donors and contributors. In particular, we would like to recognize the Estate of Gloria L. Negri, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the following Leadership Circle donors: Rhode Island Foundation, The Boston Globe, Paul and Ann Sagan, and the Robertson Foundation. Major Supporters of NEFAC’s work include Hearst Connecticut Media Group, Boston University, the Academy of New England Journalists, and Truro News.