2018 Vermont Statutes
Title 13 - Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Chapter 230 - Expungement And Sealing Of Criminal History Records
§ 7607 Effect of sealing
§ 7607. Effect of sealing
(a) Upon entry of an order to seal, the order shall be legally effective immediately and the person whose record is sealed shall be treated in all respects as if he or she had never been arrested, convicted, or sentenced for the offense. The court shall issue the person a certificate stating that such person's behavior after the conviction has warranted the issuance of the order and that its effect is to annul the record of arrest, conviction, and sentence. The court shall provide notice of the sealing to the respondent, Vermont Crime Information Center (VCIC), the arresting agency, and any other entity that may have a record related to the order to seal. The VCIC shall provide notice of the sealing to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center.
(b) In any application for employment, license, or civil right or privilege or in an appearance as a witness in any proceeding or hearing, a person may be required to answer questions about a previous criminal history record only with respect to arrests or convictions that have not been sealed.
(c) Notwithstanding a sealing order:
(1) An entity that possesses a sealed record may continue to use it for any litigation or claim arising out of the same incident or occurrence or involving the same defendant.
(2) An entity may use the criminal history record sealed in accordance with section 7603 of this title, regarding a person who was cited or arrested, for future criminal investigations or prosecutions without limitation.
(d) Upon receiving a sealing order, an entity shall:
(1) seal the investigation or prosecution record;
(2) enter a copy of the sealing order into the record;
(3) flag the record as "SEALED" to prevent inadvertent disclosure of sealed information; and
(4) upon receiving an inquiry from any person regarding a sealed record, respond that "NO RECORD EXISTS." (Added 2011, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2015, No. 133 (Adj. Sess.), § 2b, eff. May 25, 2016.)
