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Missouri Marijuana Expungements Continue
Several Missouri counties have mistakenly failed to expunge cases . by Dan Viets , J . D ., contributing writer
More than 112,800 marijuana cases have been expunged from the records maintained by Missouri Courts pursuant to the Initiative that Missouri voters passed in November of 2022 , Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution . Section 1 of Article XIV legalized medical access to marijuana in 2018 . Section 2 of Article XIV legalized adult access to cannabis and mandated expungement of marijuana cases .
Most of the expungements under Article XIV are intended to be automatic from the point of view of the Defendant . There should be no action required on the part of the person who was prosecuted for marijuana offenses to have them expunged .
However , from the point of view of the Circuit Court Clerks and their staff , the process is certainly not “ automatic .” It requires a great deal of work for them to review the cases that have accumulated during approximately a century of marijuana prohibition in Missouri .
Fortunately , the drafters of Article XIV had the foresight to provide a funding mechanism for the Circuit Clerks to hire additional staff or pay overtime to existing staff to accomplish this job . Article XIV provides for the 6 % sales tax on adult-use marijuana to pay for the costs of expunging marijuana cases . The Missouri Supreme Court requested several million dollars in 2023 and 2024 for this purpose . The legislature approved those appropriations . That money is available for local Circuit Clerks to get the expungements done .
However , several misinterpretations of what Article XIV actually says have led several counties to mistakenly fail to expunge cases that are clearly covered under Article XIV .
Among these misinterpretations of Article XIV is the idea that Suspended Imposition of Sentence ( SIS ) probation cases cannot be expunged because they are not technically convictions . In fact , Article XIV clearly provides for the expungement of records of arrests , prosecutions , guilty pleas , and all other aspects of marijuana cases . SIS driving while intoxicated cases have been routinely expunged for many years under Missouri statutes . There is absolutely no legal basis for the notion that an SIS marijuana case should not be expunged . Even though such cases result in an automatic closed record upon the successful completion of probation , a closed record is not the same as an expungement . Closed records still exist and are accessible to police officers , prosecutors , and the courts , allowing them to be used against the Defendant in regard to subsequent cases to enhance the range of punishment and in other ways .
Another misinterpretation of Article XIV is the idea that if the offense was committed when the Defendant was under 21 , the case need not be expunged because possession by those under 21 is still illegal . However , Article XIV clearly says that any offense which is no longer a crime shall be expunged . Article XIV states that possession and various other marijuana offenses committed by people under 21 years of age are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed a one hundred dollar fine . Therefore , such offenses are no longer a crime and must be expunged .
Another issue that needs to be resolved is the question of whether possession of tetrahydrocannabinol offenses should be expunged . The definition of marijuana under Article XIV clearly includes all forms of concentrates . While there is indeed a separate statute under Missouri law that makes the possession of any amount of tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC ) a felony offense , it is obvious that this law has been overridden and is invalid under Article XIV . The Constitution should be understood to expunge all cases of THC possession . Since THC is now being sold legally in approximately 200 dispensaries in every corner of our state , it is just silly to argue that THC possession cases involving concentrates are somehow not covered by Article XIV . This issue is now before the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District . A ruling in that case will be issued in the coming months .
Missouri municipal courts argue that they are exempt from the expungement requirements of Article XIV because Article XIV states that circuit courts shall expunge cases but does not specifically mention municipal courts . This argument ignores the fact that the Missouri Constitution clearly states that municipal courts of our state are subdivisions of the circuit courts . There is no basis for arguing that municipal courts are exempt from the requirements for expungements .
Moreover , exempting municipal courts would result in the absurd result that felony charges would be expunged , but “ quasi-criminal ” municipal ordinance violations would not . Clearly , the intent of the drafters of Article XIV and the intent of the voters was that municipal violations should be expunged .
Despite these misunderstandings regarding the interpretation of Article XIV ’ s expungement provisions , tens of thousands of people have now had their records cleared of marijuana offenses . The process will continue for the foreseeable future .
Watch for the May issue , when Dan Viets covers , How to petition the courts for early release from prison , probation , or parole under Article XIV .
Dan Viets , J . D . is Chair of the National Board of Directors of NORML , the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws . He is one of the authors of Article XIV and one of the leaders of the campaign for passage of both Section 1 and Section 2 of that law .
10 April 2024