Lamenting that he could not erase the criminal record of a woman who successfully “turned her life around,” a Brooklyn federal judge urged judges, lawmakers and prosecutors to rethink the law governing expungement.
Eastern District Judge Raymond Dearie said the law “regrettably” left him no choice but to deny the woman’s petition to expunge her record. His decision differed from that of Eastern District Judge John Gleeson, who recently granted an expungement request (NYLJ, June 3), but it was in line with a ruling by senior Eastern District Judge Sterling Johnson Jr.
