New state law automatically seals more than 100,000 criminal records from background checks

By Jennifer Brown | The Colorado Sun

Colorado is sealing more than 100,000 court records, the result of a new law that applies to nonviolent offenses and is intended to help people with criminal pasts pass background checks for jobs and housing.

Most of the crimes are misdemeanors and petty offenses, and many involved drugs or theft. 

Colorado for years has allowed people to petition to seal their arrests and convictions, a process that requires legal guidance and possibly a hearing before a judge. But the new Clean the Slate Act directs the state judicial system to automatically seal records that are eligible.

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