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CEILING OF THOSE RECORDS -- SEALING OF THOSE RECORDS. THE NEW CITY LAW MEANS MOST EYES, NOT ALL BUT MOST, WOULD NO LONGER BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR POT CONVICTIONS FOR 100 GRAMS OR LESS. CITY LAWMAKERS ARE MOTIVATED TO SEAL THOSE RECORDS SO THEY CANNOT BE USED AS A BARRIER TO EMPLOYMENT. >> YOU CANNOT GET AN OVI SEALED. YOU CANNOT GET A FIRST-DEGREE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SEALED. JOHN: RAY FALLER, WHO HEADS THE PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE, POINTS OUT IT’S NOT LIKE YOUR 100 GRAM CONVICTION IS REMOVED THE WAY A CLOTHING STAIN IS. IT’LL BE A MATTER OF ACCESS. >> THEY’RE NOT EXPUNGED IN THE SENSE THEY’RE SHREDDED. IT’S LIKE THEY’RE PUT IN A LOCKED CABINET. IT’S MORE LIKELY WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. JOHN: LAW ENFORCEMENT WOULD HAVE ACCESS WERE YOU TO APPLY FOR A JOB THERE. CERTAIN OTHER PROFESSIONS AS WELL. BUT, GENERALLY THERE WOULD BE NO WAY INTO THOSE RECORDS FOR MOST PEOPLE AND EMPLOYERS. THE CITY WOULD CONTRACT WITH A THIRD-PARTY TO IDENTIFY WHOSE ELIGIBLE AND MAKE CONTACT. IT WOULD THEN BE UP TO THE INDIVIDUAL TO APPLY TO HAVE HIS OR HER RECORD SEALED. A JUDGE WOULD DECIDE YAY OR NAY. AS FOR THE PRECISE TIME FRAME AND STEPS TO APPLY, STAY TUNED. >> WELL, WE DON’T KNOW YET. THIS IS THE ORDINANCE THAT SAYS PLEASE DO THIS, CITY ADMINISTRATION. WE LOOK TO THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO HIRE AN EMPLOYEE TO ESTABLISH A PROCES JOHN: THAT PROCESS WOULD BEGIN NEXT SUMMER AND LIKELY AFFECT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ALTHOUGH A HARD, ACCURATE COUNT IS UNKNOWN RIGHT NOT. THERE’S A MOUNTAIN OF RESEARCH AHEAD. >> WE DON’T KNOW WHAT THE COST IS GOING TO BE. THIS IS AN X-FACTOR BECAUSE WE DON’T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY THIS. JOHN: AS THINGS STAND NOW, NEXT JULY IS WHEN THE PREPARATION PROCESS WILL BE OVER. AND THE COURT CONSIDERATION OF SEALING RECORDS FOR 3 OUNCES OR LESS WILL GET UNDERWAY. LIVE AT CITY HALL, JOHN LONDON, WLWT NEW

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Saying low-level drug possession should not carry a lifelong stain and be barrier to employment or loans, a clear Cincinnati Council majority approved a new law to try to remedy that situation.By an 8-1 vote with Republican Amy Murray as the lone dissenter, council adopted the ordinance which will take effect in one month.Its implementation won't be immediate, however.There will be considerable research and work ahead of any actual sealing of criminal records.The new city law would mean most eyes, not all but most, would no longer be able to see an individual's pot convictions for 100 grams which is equivalent to three ounces or less.City lawmakers are motivated to seal those records so they cannot be used against someone who is applying for a job, a student loan, a license or a housing opportunity.It's important to note the distinction between expungement of a record and a sealing of a record.The former suggests an erasure, a wiping clean as if the conviction or allegation never existed in the first place.The latter suggests a retention of the record itself, but no access to the information except in certain cases."You cannot get an OVI sealed. You cannot get a first-degree domestic violence sealed," said Ray Faller, who heads the public defender's office.He pointed out it's not like your 100-gram conviction is removed the way a clothing stain is simply with a spray bottle and it's no longer visible.It'll be a matter of access."They're not expunged in the sense they're shredded," explained Faller. "It's like they're put in a locked cabinet."Faller called it a good idea in theory but wondered about the mechanics of it."The city itself can't expunge the records. Somebody's got to go into court. I don't know if they're going to have people do it pro se by themselves or if they're going to hire attorneys for people to do it. I just don't know how that's going to be carried out."First, the city administration will hire a third party to identify who is eligible.Then those people will be contacted and it'll be up to them to decide if they will apply.If they do, they'll have to go to a court for consideration by a judge.David Mann, an attorney who's on council, says the records would still exist and in certain situations could be seen by others."The record is sealed and in some circumstances it can be reopened," stated Mann."For instance, boards of education are entitled to have the information because there's a special concern about those who come into contact with children."As for the precise time frame and steps to apply, stay tuned.We don't know yet. This is the ordinance that says please do this, city administration. We look to the city administration to hire an employee to establish a process."That process would begin next summer and likely affect thousands of people although a hard, accurate count is unknown right not.There's a mountain of research ahead.From the floor of council, Vice Mayor Chris Smitherman said "We don't know what the cost is going to be. This is an X-factor because we don't know how many people have been impacted by this."Smitherman, Mann and Jeff Pastor lead this effort.An independent, a Democrat and a Republican."I'll tell you now the vast majority of folks in my party do not support the decriminalizing of marijuana, that sort of thing," said Pastor."However, they do support folks making billions of dollars off of marijuana that was just illegal."