The Use of Expunged Records to Impeach Credibility in Arizona
![handle is hein.journals/arzjl42 and id is 491 raw text is: THE USE OF EXPUNGED RECORDS TO
IMPEACH CREDIBILITY IN ARIZONA
Andrew Hackert
The American Bar Association's model standards provide that [t]he
legislature should establish a process by which a convicted person may
obtain an order relieving the person of all collateral sanctions imposed by
the law of that jurisdiction.1 Generally speaking, collateral consequences
are the lifetime [of] adverse effects that an offender faces as a result of a
criminal conviction.2 An offender's criminal record will create problems
every time [the offender] seeks employment, applies for a professional
license, or attempts to obtain a security clearance.'3
In addition, prior records often are used to impeach an offender's
credibility during testimony. Even though the goal of corrections must be
the full and early reintegration of a criminal offender into free society, with
the same benefits and opportunities available to any member of the general
public, many offenders often are assumed to be less trustworthy than non-
offenders simply because they have a prior record.4 There is often very little
heed paid to whether offenders have completed their punishment and should
thus be considered worthy enough to enjoy those benefits and opportunities,
or even be considered trustworthy enough to give credible testimony.
The ABA's standard contemplates a judicial or administrative process
for obtaining relief from all collateral sanctions imposed by the law of [a]
jurisdiction, but leaves undefined what that process might be.5 Arizona has
attempted to address both the ABA's suggestions and the lack of heed paid
t J.D. Candidate, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University,
May 2010; B.A., History, University of Chicago, 2004. The author would like to thank
Professor Carissa Hessick for her insightful comments and valuable contributions, and the
entire staff of the Arizona State Law Journal for all their assistance in the production of this
article. For my parents.
1. ABA STANDARDS FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE: COLLATERAL SANCTIONS &
DISCRETIONARY DISQUALIFICATIONS OF CONVICTED PERSONS § 19-2.5(c) (2004).
2. James W. Diehm, Federal Expungement: A Concept in Need of a Definition, 66
ST. JOHN'S L. REV. 73, 74 (1992).
3. Id.
4. Margaret Colgate Love, Starting Over With a Clean Slate: In Praise of a
Forgotten Section of the Model Penal Code, 30 FORDHAM URB. L.J. 1705, 1706 (2003).
5. ABA STANDARDS FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE: COLLATERAL SANCTIONS &
DISCRETIONARY DISQUALIFICATIONS OF CONVICTED PERS. § 19-2.5(c) cmt. at 33 (2004).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/arzjl42&div=20&collection=journals&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The Use of Expunged Records to Impeach Credibility in Arizona
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