I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3156 
To provide for the expungement and sealing of youth criminal records, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2015 
Ms. JACKSON LEE (for herself, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. BASS, Ms. BROWN of Flor-
ida, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. CLAY, Ms. CLARKE 
of New York, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. DANNY K. 
DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. 
HAHN, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. LEE, Ms. LOF-
GREN, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. RAN-
GEL, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WILSON of 
Florida, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. PETERS, 
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. AL 
GREEN of Texas, and Mr. CASTRO of Texas) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide for the expungement and sealing of youth 
criminal records, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Chance for Youth 
Act of 2015’’. 
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‘‘(2) The United States Probation and Pretrial 
Services System. 
‘‘(3) The Office of the Federal Defender or a 
designated Criminal Justice Act panel attorney or 
private criminal defense attorney. 
‘‘(c) POWERS.—The Review Board shall— 
‘‘(1) review petitions under this subchapter to 
determine whether the youth, and the offense on 
which the petition is based, meet the eligibility re-
quirements for expungement or sealing consider-
ation; 
‘‘(2) for petitions meeting the eligibility require-
ments, evaluate those petitions on the merits in 
order to make a recommendation on the advisability 
of granting the petition; and 
‘‘(3) convey its recommendation, with a written 
explanation, to the Chief Judge in each Federal Dis-
trict, or a designee of the Chief Judge, for consider-
ation. 
‘‘(d) 
RECOMMENDATION.—In 
making 
its 
rec-
ommendation, the Review Board— 
‘‘(1) shall consider all the evidence and testi-
mony presented in the petition and any hearings 
held on the petition; 
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‘‘(2) may not consider any arrest or prosecution 
that did not result in a conviction and that took 
place prior to the conviction or arrest the petitioner 
is seeking to expunge or seal; and 
‘‘(3) shall balance— 
‘‘(A) the public safety, the interest of pub-
lic knowledge, and any legitimate interest of the 
Government in maintaining the accessibility of 
the protected information; against 
‘‘(B) the interest of the petitioner in hav-
ing the petition granted, including the benefit 
to the petition’s ability to positively contribute 
to the community, and the petitioner’s conduct 
and demonstrated desire to be rehabilitated. 
‘‘(e) COURT TO CONSIDER AND DECIDE UPON PETI-
TIONS.—The Court shall consider and decide upon each 
petition for which the court receives a recommendation 
from the Review Board. The Court’s decision to grant or 
deny the petition shall give significant weight to the Re-
view Board recommendation. The Court shall grant the 
petition unless the Government shows the interests de-
scribed in subsection (d)(3)(A) outweigh the interests of 
the petitioner described in subsection (d)(3)(B). 
‘‘(f) ONE OPPORTUNITY.—A youth may only file a 
petition for expungement or sealing under this subchapter 
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once and the decision of the district court on the petition 
shall be final and is not appealable. 
‘‘(g) ONLINE FORMS FOR PETITIONS.—The Director 
of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts 
shall create and make available to the public, online and 
in paper form, a universal form to file a petition under 
this section, and establish a process under which indigent 
petitioners may obtain a waiver of any fee for filing a peti-
tion under this section. 
‘‘(h) MAKING AVAILABLE STANDARD FORMS FOR 
COURT ORDERS.—The Director of the Administrative Of-
fice of the United States Courts shall create and make 
available to the Chief Judge of every Federal district 
standard expungement and sealing orders that empower 
the petitioner to seek destruction of records in accordance 
with the order. 
‘‘§ 3632. Expungement and sealing for youth 
‘‘(a) EXPUNGEMENT
PETITION
ELIGIBILITY.—A 
youth may petition a district court of the United States 
for expungement— 
‘‘(1) of the record of any misdemeanor or non-
violent felony drug conviction 3 years after the youth 
has completed every term of imprisonment related to 
that misdemeanor or nonviolent felony drug convic-
tion; 
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‘‘(2) of the record of any person who has not 
attained the age of 18 at the time of committing the 
conduct resulting in conviction for any misdemeanor 
or nonviolent offense 3 years after the person has 
completed every term of imprisonment related to 
that misdemeanor or nonviolent offense conviction; 
and 
‘‘(3) of the record of an arrest or prosecution 
for any nonviolent offense on the date on which the 
case related to that arrest or prosecution is disposed 
of. 
‘‘(b) SEALING PETITION ELIGIBILITY.—A youth may 
petition a district court of the United States, for sealing— 
‘‘(1) of the record of any nonviolent conviction 
5 years after the youth has completed every term of 
imprisonment related to that nonviolent conviction; 
‘‘(2) of the record of any person who has not 
attained the age of 18 at the time of committing the 
conduct resulting in conviction for any offense 10 
years after the person has completed every term of 
imprisonment related to that offense conviction; and 
‘‘(3) of the record of an arrest or prosecution 
for any nonviolent offense on the date on which the 
case related to that arrest or prosecution is disposed 
of. 
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‘‘(c) NOTICE
OF OPPORTUNITY TO FILE PETI-
TION.—A youth shall be informed of the eligibility to, pro-
cedures for, and benefits of filing an expungement or seal-
ing petition— 
‘‘(1) by the District Court on the date of con-
viction; 
‘‘(2) by the Office of Probation and Pretrial 
Services on the date the youth completes every term 
of imprisonment; or 
‘‘(3) if the arrest or prosecution does not result 
in a conviction, then by the Department of Justice 
on the date the case is disposed of. 
‘‘(d) GRANT OF PETITION.—If a court grants a peti-
tion under this section— 
‘‘(1) the person to whom the record pertains 
may choose to, but is not required to, disclose the 
existence of the record, and the offense conduct and 
any arrest, juvenile delinquency proceeding, adju-
dication, conviction, or other result of such pro-
ceeding relating to the offense conduct, shall be 
treated as if it never occurred; 
‘‘(2) the court shall destroy each paper and 
electronic copy of the record in the possession of the 
court; 
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‘‘(1) describes— 
‘‘(A) the number of expungement and seal-
ing petitions granted and denied; and 
‘‘(B) the number of instances in which the 
office of a United States attorney supported or 
opposed an expungement or sealing petition; 
and 
‘‘(2) includes any supporting data that the 
court determines relevant but does not name any pe-
titioner.’’. 
SEC. 3. RETROACTIVE EFFECT. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act apply 
with respect to youth without regard to whether they be-
come involved in the Federal criminal justice system be-
fore, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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