Opinion ID: 2521559
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The meaning and effect of setting aside a conviction

Text: Doe argues that because the superior court set aside his conviction before ASORA was enacted, the state cannot now force him to register and divulge new, private information. To evaluate his argument and the importance of the liberty interest at stake, we must consider the meaning and effect of setting aside a conviction. When Doe was convicted, the superior court suspended the imposition of his sentence, subject to several conditions. Doe met those conditions. After Doe's probationary period expired without imposition of sentence, the superior court, with the state's consent, entered a judgment setting aside his conviction. Alaska Statute 12.55.085 governs the suspended imposition of sentences and conviction set-asides. [44] It grants a trial judge discretion to suspend, in the interest of justice, the imposition of a sentence and place the defendant on probation. [45] If the defendant satisfies the terms and conditions of the probation without incident, the court may set aside the conviction and issue to the person a certificate to that effect. [46] Such measures are typically reserved for low-risk, first-time offenders, [47] a description the superior court found fit Doe when it suspended imposition of his sentence. [48] A conviction that has been set aside is not a conviction in situations in which a sentence is increased or a crime is defined by a prior conviction. [49] A conviction that was set aside is not a prior conviction within the meaning of AS 12.55.125 and .145 (if sufficient time has elapsed), which describe the proper use of prior convictions in sentencing. [50] Moreover, a person with a conviction that was set aside has an affirmative defense in some repeat offender situations. For example, AS 11.61.200 (misconduct involving weapons in the third degree) punishes a person who knowingly possesses a firearm capable of being concealed on one's person after having been convicted of a felony, but provides an affirmative defense to prosecution if the underlying conviction upon which the action is based has been set aside under AS 12.55.085. [51] A conviction that was set aside may not be used to impeach a witness for having been convicted of a crime under Alaska Rule of Evidence 609(d)(2). [52] In State v. Mekiana we discussed the purpose of suspending imposition of sentence and setting aside a conviction: Ordinarily, when a judge opts to order a suspended sentence the judge has evaluated the defendant's background and offense and decided the defendant deserves a chance to show that he or she has reformed and therefore should be rewarded with a clean record. One of the purposes of the set-aside statute is to provide defendants with an incentive to meet the conditions of their probation. [53] The Alaska Court of Appeals has also considered the meaning of a set-aside under AS 12.55.085. In Wickham v. State it said that a set-aside order reflect[s] a substantial showing of rehabilitation. [54] The court of appeals wrote there that it seems virtually inconceivable that a set-aside would ever be justified in the face of substantial evidence establishing that an offender had not actually been reformed. [55] It concluded that a conviction that has been set aside cannot be used to impeach a witness at trial. [56] In his dissent in State v. Otness , Chief Judge Coats observed that after defendants completed conditions of suspended imposition of sentence, they could reasonably conclude that their criminal conviction was part of their past, and that, if they continued to be law abiding citizens, they had a good chance of not suffering any disabilities because of this prior prosecution. [57] But as the state observes, other decisions of this court indicate that the meaning of set aside is not as clear as Doe claims. We have recognized that while the collateral consequences of a set aside conviction should be limited, records of a set aside conviction can be used in certain circumstances. [58] For example, prior convictions that were set aside may be treated as aggravating factors when sentence is imposed for a subsequent crime; AS 12.55.155(c)(8) and (c)(21) allow a sentencing judge to consider a defendant's prior criminal history. [59] Further, we have held that setting aside a conviction does not expunge the conviction from an offender's criminal record. [60] Both the conviction and the judgment setting it aside consequently remain in the public record. Members of the public, such as potential employers inquiring into a job applicant's criminal record, can learn of the existence of a conviction that has been set aside. [61] They can do this by researching court records or by requiring a person applying for employment or housing to divulge the fact of a prior conviction even if it has been set aside. An offender's public record normally does not include information about events or circumstances post-dating the order granting the set-aside. The public record will normally include at least some description of the conduct that resulted in the conviction and the circumstances that justified the set-aside. [62] In our experience, the public record of an offender who receives a set-aside contains little of the information that ASORA makes public. [63] A conviction that was set aside therefore has some lingering consequences. But these consequences are relatively limited, and are foreseeable to a set-aside candidate. They follow naturally from the original conviction and are not inconsistent with the findings that justify a set-aside or with the set-aside order itself. Moreover, the offender has some ability to limit public interest in the information because it is often the offender's post-set-side elective conduct (e.g., applying for a job) that potentially requires him or her to disclose adverse information already in the public record. The defendant can limit the risk he will have to disclose this information by limiting his application choices or withdrawing applications when asked to disclose. As we will see, the effects and consequences of ASORA are much different.