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Does this land of liberty allow a second chance?
Setting the record straight on deferred adjudication
By Senator Royce West (Author for SB 1477)
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Audio 
This session, I authored Senate Bill 1477, a bill that has generated
considerable debate. Soon to become law, it will provide a great deal
of relief - as well as a second chance - to possibly thousands of Texans.
Deferred adjudication has been part of Texas law for nearly 30 years,
long before anything resembling the technology that we now see in the
Internet age. The original intent was to give those charged with lesser
crimes the opportunity to "wipe the slate clean" and make a
fresh start. It gave judges and juries an alternative to incarceration,
while still allowing for supervision before the individual is considered
fully rehabilitated and the charges dismissed. As a result, defense has
counseled clients for years that in accepting and completing a deferred
judgement, their misdeeds would not create a permanent criminal record.
When deferred adjudication was originally introduced, only law enforcement
agencies and select public entities had access to criminal records. Official
records would list the criminal charge and the court's disposition, that
being a dismissal in the case of a deferred adjudication ruling. Now we
live in an age when private citizens can pull down and scrutinize another's
criminal history at the press of a button. Those lacking the capability
can, for a fee, enlist the services of an entire cottage industry that
can scrutinize the arrest, charge and deferred adjudication records of
any individual they wish to investigate.
Part of the challenge of moving into the electronic age is that we must
constantly be mindful of the correct balance between the public's right
to know, and the individual's right to privacy. Senate Bill 1477 will
restore some common sense to the process.
For the record, I firmly believe that a person who commits a crime should
be subject to the full array of sanctions possible under law. But a deferred
adjudication is not a criminal conviction. That's the law. In my book,
that means that someone who has successfully discharged a deferred sentence
should be able to resume his or her life without the mark of a criminal
record and without suffering the disadvantages that a conviction can bring
to one's family life, one's career, one's future.
My office has fielded numerous calls from persons who have been denied
access to rental properties and employment. During committee hearings
on Senate Bill 1477, we heard testimony from an individual who had been
denied life insurance for his children. This for an act committed more
than ten years ago, for which he had successfully completed deferred adjudication
and thus was not convicted.
Passage of Senate Bill 1477 involved intense negotiations with prosecutors
and members of our law enforcement community in crafting a reasonable
bill that would establish a fair balance between the public's right to
safety and an individual's right not to be shackled for a crime that never
resulted in a conviction. The legislation contains many changes recommended
by those groups including provisions that prohibit the sealing of records
for anyone charged with intoxication offenses such as driving while intoxicated
or intoxication manslaughter, or anyone who has at any time been required
to register as a sex offender. In addition, I worked closely with advocates
against domestic violence so that the bill does not include those who
have been charged with stalking, violating a protective order or other
felony violations of laws protecting family members. People charged with
crimes against children, the elderly or disabled are also not eligible.
Criminal justice agencies will have access to records sealed under SB1477,
as will school districts. Persons who have been granted non-disclosure,
but go on to commit a subsequent offense will not be able to hide deferred
charges from a jury.
Perhaps the biggest guarantee that this bill is good public policy is
the provision that, after the successful completion of a deferred sentence,
the applicant must again present himself or herself before a court to
request that their records be sealed.
The Legislature acted once, last session, to pass a similar bill reforming
deferred adjudication. Senate Bill 1477 has now been approved by Governor
Perry, having passed both chambers of the legislature by significant margins
during the 78th Session. Clearly, this is a moderate, well-balanced measure
that strikes a compromise between the public's right to know and the individual's
right to privacy.
ATTN: SB 1477 has passed!!
Here is our opinion, and our concerns on SB 1477:
Click Here to read our article.
Deferred adjudication still needs to be changed!!
I am urging that all of you who want to change the current law to contact
us with your story
Also please visit our sister site Wipe
The Slate Clean
We are in the process of massive reconstruction, I would like
to thank everyone for all of the hard work that we put into the effort
of changing deferred adjudication issues in Texas. Soon we will rise like
a phoenix out of the ashes.
Please check back soon for new features and updates.
Thanks,
Valente G. Web Master
News Stories
Again the Media is wanting to pull up dirt, and
is trying to pose hypothetical situations to further their leftist agenda.
The media can be said to live off of other peoples dirt, so they are the
ones who would least like this legislation.
http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/op_editorials/article/0,1874,ABIL_7983_2044058,00.html
If they take the link off click
here
The media is at it again, they are saying that
SB 1477 would not allow them to pull up dirt.
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=132&xlc=1012549
If they take the link off click
here
Media groups call on Perry to veto criminal
records bill they have 2 articles out in the same newspaper.
http://www.dallasnews.com/texassouthwest/ap/stories/AP_STATEGS_0113.html
If they take the link off click
here
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/061303dntexveto.11e20.html
If they take the link off click
here
Deferred is a curse on young people's futures.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/05/30/politics/main293951.shtml
Reporter Julie
Elliot does not understand that deferred adjudication means "not
convicted".
In a story titled 3 runoffs ahead for The Colony Located at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/localnews/stories/050403dnmetDENCOVOTE.5af31.html
If they take the link off click
here
Senator Jeff Wentworth says we are convicted
Felons.
According to the article located at.
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=999614
If they take the link off click
here
Mayor With Deferred Adjudication
This article appeared on the web page at "http://www.nbc5i.com/news/2224214/detail.html"
if they take the link down then click
here.
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