New AZ Website Helps People Expunge Cannabis Convictions

The Arizona Administrative Office of the Courts posted a website with information
on marijuana-related records expungement. The website, www.azcourts.gov/prop207,
provides information on the voter-led initiative, forms and instructions, frequently asked questions,
and more.

Ballot initiative Proposition 207, called the Smart and Safe Arizona Act, passed in
November 2020, with certain provisions taking effect when the election results were certified
shortly after. Provisions for expunging records that show the arrest, charge, adjudication,
conviction, or sentence of certain marijuana-related offenses take effect July 12, 2021. The website
will help individuals determine if they qualify for expungement and will provide forms and
instructions for filing.

Adult and juvenile arrests, charges, adjudications, convictions, and sentences are eligible
for expungement if the applicant meets the requirements in A.R.S. § 36-2862 and Rule 36, Arizona
Rules of Criminal Procedure. The expungement process seals records from the public, while
keeping them available to the person arrested, charged, adjudicated, convicted, or sentenced.
Implementation can be complicated in part because records eligible for expungement can be
included on documents with other, ineligible offenses or that include information about codefendants not eligible for expungement. The Arizona Supreme Court issued Administrative Order
2021-82 giving courts standardized procedures to implement the expungement process.

Depending on the facts of the arrest, charge, adjudication, conviction, or sentence, the
petition may need to be filed in a municipal court, justice court, or superior court. There is no filing
fee to file a petition for expungement. Petitions cannot be filed until July 12, 2021. For more
information, go to www.azcourts.gov/prop207.