LOS ANGELES — When Jay Jordan was released from prison after an eight-year sentence, he was ready for a fresh start. He had spent his time creating a curated list of the careers he was going to explore once he got out.


What You Need To Know

  • SB 731 electronically seals records for people who have been arrested, but not convicted of a crime

  • The law allows certain people who went to prison to petition a court to have their records electronically sealed

  • The law does not allow anyone convicted of sex offenses or crimes against children to have their records expunged
  • “This is not a get out of jail free card,” Jordan said. “This is if you serve your time, you pay your debt to society, you should be able to get a job, you should be able to find an apartment, you should be able to take care of yourself and your family"

He planned to sell used cars, insurance and real estate, and to go to cosmetology school to become a barber.

Jordan had all this written as a “foolproof plan,” or so he thought.

“All those things that I wanted to do, I couldn’t do because having a felony stopped me from doing it,” Jordan said, adding “… this was devastating for me because I didn’t have a plan B.”

Because of his criminal record, Jordan could not get his real estate license, sell cars or go to cosmetology school.

Employers and landlords would reject him because of his criminal record, creating roadblocks to finding a job or a place to live.

Even when Jordan landed a job through a temp agency, he said the company that hired him fired him immediately after learning he had been to prison. It took years of struggle to make a life for himself, thanks in most part to the support he received from his family.

“It was extremely rough for the first few years, but [sic] I was one of the lucky ones. I was the exception to the rule, because I had family there to help me through the hard times,” Jordan said.

Now the CEO of Alliance for Safety and Justice and the National Director of the nonprofit TimeDone, Jordan leads reform advocacy efforts for the criminal justice system.

SB 731, which went into effect on Jan. 1, electronically seals records for people who have been arrested, but not convicted of a crime. It also allows for certain people who went to prison to petition a court to have their records electronically sealed.

“This is not a get out of jail free card,” Jordan said. “This is if you serve your time, you pay your debt to society, you should be able to get a job, you should be able to find an apartment, you should be able to take care of yourself and your family.”

Jordan said the past expungement process was difficult to navigate and only benefited a small portion of people with criminal records.

He notes the new legislation helps fix what he called a “broken criminal justice system,” that was quick to arrest and charge people for crimes but was slow to grant people expungement once they had proven to be rehabilitated.

Now under SB 731, people who have been released from prison and finished parole, and are crime-free for four years, are eligible to petition their local court to have their record expunged.

There are exceptions to the new law. Anyone convicted of sex offenses or crimes against children is not eligible for their records to be expunged.

Although critics argue landlords and employers have the right to see applicants’ criminal records, Jordan points out the past criminal records do not show what a person is like today.

“The problem is there’s no definition for rehabilitation,” Jordan said. “So what expungement does, is it puts in place a definition for rehabilitation by [sic] the state of California.”

Having a court rule for a person’s records to be expunged would eliminate the current barriers for people working toward a fresh start.

“That should give some solace to landlords and employers, to say ‘OK, you know what? The court says he’s rehabilitated, then he’s rehabilitated — or she’s rehabilitated,’” Jordan said. “Right now it’s up in the air, so it’s difficult for a landlord or employer who don’t really have a mechanism to gauge if the person’s rehabilitated or not.”

Jordan believes the major factor for people committing crimes comes down to economics. By eliminating barriers to jobs, people who have been convicted of crimes would not resort to stealing from stores or breaking into cars.

“If we start addressing the root causes of crimes, which a lot of the times is economics, why would you then not want someone to get out and get a job,” Jordan said.

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