Can a person with multiple minor misdemeanors get an expungement in Ohio?
Full Question:
I have been convicted for possession of marijuana on 3 different occasions with less than 20 grams in Ohio. Only once did I spend 30 days in jail for carrying over 20 grams of marijuana. I am a new recruit (on probation) in a private securities firm. They run background checks on employees who complete their probation period in order to induct them into the company as permanent employees. The firm has a good rapport with the justice department. They refuse to induct anybody with even a minor misdemeanor. Am I eligible to get my records expunged?
11/28/2016 |
Category: Criminal ยป Expungement ... |
State: Ohio |
#27258
Answer:
In Ohio, it is illegal to cultivate or sell marijuana and penalties vary according to the amount cultivated or sold. ORC Ann. 2925.04 lays down the penalties for illegal cultivation or sale of marijuana. It reads:
“(5) If the drug involved in the violation is marihuana, the penalty for the offense shall be determined as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(5)(b), (c), (d), (e), or (f) of this section, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a minor misdemeanor or, if the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(b) If the amount of marihuana involved equals or exceeds one hundred grams but is less than two hundred grams, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree or, if the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(c) If the amount of marihuana involved equals or exceeds two hundred grams but is less than one thousand grams, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a felony of the fifth degree or, if the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, a felony of the fourth degree, and division (B) of section 2929.13 of the Revised Code applies in determining whether to impose a prison term on the offender.
(d) If the amount of marihuana involved equals or exceeds one thousand grams but is less than five thousand grams, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a felony of the third degree or, if the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, a felony of the second degree, and division (C) of section 2929.13 of the Revised Code applies in determining whether to impose a prison term on the offender.
(e) If the amount of marihuana involved equals or exceeds five thousand grams but is less than twenty thousand grams, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a felony of the third degree or, if the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, a felony of the second degree, and there is a presumption for a prison term for the offense.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in this division, if the amount of marihuana involved equals or exceeds twenty thousand grams, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a felony of the second degree, and the court shall impose as a mandatory prison term the maximum prison term prescribed for a felony of the second degree. If the amount of the drug involved equals or exceeds twenty thousand grams and if the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a felony of the first degree, and the court shall impose as a mandatory prison term the maximum prison term prescribed for a felony of the first degree.”
(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(5)(b), (c), (d), (e), or (f) of this section, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a minor misdemeanor or, if the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(b) If the amount of marihuana involved equals or exceeds one hundred grams but is less than two hundred grams, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree or, if the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(c) If the amount of marihuana involved equals or exceeds two hundred grams but is less than one thousand grams, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a felony of the fifth degree or, if the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, a felony of the fourth degree, and division (B) of section 2929.13 of the Revised Code applies in determining whether to impose a prison term on the offender.
(d) If the amount of marihuana involved equals or exceeds one thousand grams but is less than five thousand grams, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a felony of the third degree or, if the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, a felony of the second degree, and division (C) of section 2929.13 of the Revised Code applies in determining whether to impose a prison term on the offender.
(e) If the amount of marihuana involved equals or exceeds five thousand grams but is less than twenty thousand grams, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a felony of the third degree or, if the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, a felony of the second degree, and there is a presumption for a prison term for the offense.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in this division, if the amount of marihuana involved equals or exceeds twenty thousand grams, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a felony of the second degree, and the court shall impose as a mandatory prison term the maximum prison term prescribed for a felony of the second degree. If the amount of the drug involved equals or exceeds twenty thousand grams and if the offense was committed in the vicinity of a school or in the vicinity of a juvenile, illegal cultivation of marihuana is a felony of the first degree, and the court shall impose as a mandatory prison term the maximum prison term prescribed for a felony of the first degree.”
For a person to qualify as an eligible offender, ORC Ann. 2953.31 lays down the benchmark. It reads:
“(A) "Eligible offender" means anyone who has been convicted of an offense in this state or any other jurisdiction and who has not more than one felony conviction, not more than two misdemeanor convictions, or not more than one felony conviction and one misdemeanor conviction in this state or any other jurisdiction. When two or more convictions result from or are connected with the same act or result from offenses committed at the same time, they shall be counted as one conviction. When two or three convictions result from the same indictment, information, or complaint, from the same plea of guilty, or from the same official proceeding, and result from related criminal acts that were committed within a three-month period but do not result from the same act or from offenses committed at the same time, they shall be counted as one conviction, provided that a court may decide as provided in division (C)(1)(a) of section 2953.32 of the Revised Code that it is not in the public interest for the two or three convictions to be counted as one conviction.
For purposes of, and except as otherwise provided in, this division, a conviction for a minor misdemeanor, for a violation of any section in Chapter 4507., 4510., 4511., 4513., or 4549. of the Revised Code, or for a violation of a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any section in those chapters is not a conviction. However, a conviction for a violation of section 4511.19, 4511.251, 4549.02, 4549.021, 4549.03, 4549.042, or 4549.62 or sections 4549.41 to 4549.46 of the Revised Code, for a violation of section 4510.11 or 4510.14 of the Revised Code that is based upon the offender's operation of a vehicle during a suspension imposed under section 4511.191 or 4511.196 of the Revised Code, for a violation of a substantially equivalent municipal ordinance, for a felony violation of Title XLV of the Revised Code, or for a violation of a substantially equivalent former law of this state or former municipal ordinance shall be considered a conviction.
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Therefore, a person may apply for expungement if he has a maximum of two misdemeanors or one misdemeanor and one felony. Per ORC Ann. 2925.04 carry less than 20 grams only qualifies as a minor misdemeanor and carry any amount between 20 and 100 grams qualifies as a fourth-degree misdemeanor. In this case, it is the court's discretion to grant the expungement of records even though there were multiple convictions as they were lower than a fourth-degree misdemeanor.
