The Santa Cruz County District Attorney says he today petitioned the Santa Cruz County Superior Court to reduce, dismiss, and seal nearly 1,200 marijuana convictions involving almost 1,100 defendants.
DA Jeff Rosell said the cases go back as far as 1969. When Californians voted to legalize marijuana, they also created a mechanism to wipe previous convictions off people’s criminal records. Previously, this had to be done individually but Rosell’s action will wipe all qualifying convictions from people’s records without a specific request.
In announcing the move, Rosell said the old convictions place an “undue burden” on the defendant’s livelihoods, both past and present. He said he wants to provide relief to non-violent people caught up in the war on drugs and level the playing field for people convicted of crimes that are no longer crimes.
