To create a process for the expungement of pardoned Federal offenses.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
Named after Weldon Angelos, who was sentenced to 55 years for nonviolent marijuana offenses and later pardoned, this bill creates a formal process for expunging the federal criminal records of individuals who have received a full, unconditional presidential pardon. It requires federal courts to proactively review and expunge qualifying records within two years, and allows pardoned individuals to petition courts directly for expungement.
Who Benefits and How
Individuals who have received full presidential pardons benefit most, as they would be able to have their criminal records erased, removing barriers to employment, housing, and full participation in society. Their families and communities also benefit from improved reentry outcomes. The bill provides free legal counsel for indigent petitioners and prohibits filing fees.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The federal court system bears the administrative burden of reviewing records, processing expungement orders, and notifying relevant agencies. Federal and state criminal justice agencies must update their records to comply with expungement orders. The Department of Justice must implement new procedures and may lose the ability to use pardoned records in some contexts.
Key Provisions
- Requires federal district courts to proactively review and expunge records of pardoned offenses within 2 years
- Allows pardoned individuals to petition for expungement with no filing fees and appointed counsel if indigent
- Expungement restores the individual to their pre-offense legal status, removing employment and other disqualifications
- Includes an intelligence exception allowing intelligence agencies to retain records for national security purposes
- Mandates a GAO study on the demographics of pardoned individuals and the implementation of the expungement process
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a legal process for people who have received a full presidential pardon to have their federal criminal records expunged, sealed, and sequestered, removing barriers to reentry into society.
Key Policy Areas
Criminal Justice Reform, Civil Rights, Government Administration
Primary Purpose
Creates a legal process for people who have received a full presidential pardon to have their federal criminal records expunged, sealed, and sequestered, removing barriers to reentry into society.
Policy Domains
Whole Bill
Identified Gains
- Pardoned federal offenders
- Families and communities of pardoned individuals
- Criminal justice reform advocates
Identified Costs
- Federal court system
- Federal and state criminal justice agencies
- U.S. Department of Justice
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Armstrong (for himself, Mr. Trone, Ms. Lee of Florida, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Individuals with expunged federal records, Individuals with federal presidential pardons, Individuals with presidential pardons
Administrative Office of US Courts, Federal courts, Federal district courts
Federal and state criminal justice agencies, Government Accountability Office
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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