Vermont Statutes Title 13 Sec. 8011
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 13 Sec. 8011
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Conviction: includes an adjudication for delinquency for purposes of this chapter only, unless otherwise specified. See
- Court: means the Criminal Division of the Superior Court. See
- Decision-maker: means the State acting through a department, agency, officer, or instrumentality, including a political subdivision, educational institution, board, or commission, or its employees or a government contractor, including a subcontractor, made subject to this chapter by contract, by law other than this chapter, or by ordinance. See
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Incarceration: means confinement in jail or prison. See
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Mandatory sanction: means a penalty, disability, or disadvantage imposed on an individual as a result of the individual's conviction of an offense which applies by operation of law whether or not the penalty, disability, or disadvantage is included in the judgment or sentence. See
- Offense: means a felony, misdemeanor, or delinquent act under the laws of this State, another state, or the United States. See
§ 8011. Certificate of restoration of rights
(a) An individual convicted of an offense may petition the court for a certificate of restoration of rights relieving mandatory sanctions not sooner than five years after the individual’s most recent conviction of a felony or misdemeanor in any jurisdiction, or not sooner than five years after the individual’s release from incarceration pursuant to a criminal sentence in any jurisdiction, whichever is later. The individual seeking restoration of rights shall provide the prosecutor’s office with notice of his or her petition.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in section 8012 of this title, the court may issue a certificate of restoration of rights if, after reviewing the petition, the individual’s criminal history, any filing by a victim under section 8015 of this title or a prosecuting attorney, and any other relevant evidence, it finds the individual has established by a preponderance of the evidence that:
(1) the individual is engaged in or seeking to engage in a lawful occupation or activity, including employment, training, education, or rehabilitative programs, or the individual otherwise has a lawful source of support;
(2) the individual is not in violation of the terms of any criminal sentence or that any failure to comply is justified, excused, involuntary, or insubstantial;
(3) a criminal charge is not pending against the individual; and
(4) granting the petition would not pose an unreasonable risk to the safety or welfare of the public or to any individual.
(c) A certificate of restoration of rights must specify any restriction imposed and mandatory sanction from which relief has not been granted under section 8013 of this title.
(d) A certificate of restoration of rights relieves all mandatory sanctions, except those listed in section 8012 of this title and any others specifically excluded in the certificate.
(e) If a mandatory sanction has been relieved pursuant to this section, a decision-maker may consider the conduct underlying a conviction as provided in section 8008 of this title. (Added 2013, No. 181 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2016.)