Using Code for America technology, the Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton announced today that 3,264 marijuana convictions eligible for relief under Proposition 64 will be dismissed and sealed, impacting about 2,400 individuals in the county.
The partnership employed Code for America’s Clear My Record technology, which “reads bulk criminal history data from the California Department of Justice, and securely and accurately analyzes eligibility for record remediation under state law,” the office said.
“This technology can analyze eligibility for thousands of convictions in just a few minutes, alleviating the need for DA staff to go through state criminal records one by one to evaluate eligibility, a time and labor-intensive process,” the DA’s Office said in a statement.
The DA’s Office becomes the fifth in the state to announce a pilot partnership with Code for America, joining San Francisco, Sacramento, San Joaquin and Los Angeles. In total, the five pilots will help reduce or dismiss approximately 75,000 Proposition 64 eligible convictions, the DA’s Office said.
“Far too often old criminal convictions for minor drug offenses can leave a lasting mark on an individual’s life,” Becton said in the statement. “The removal of these convictions effectively reduces barriers to licensing, education, housing and employment.”
Earlier this year, Code for America also launched its new Clear My Record Application and Implementation Blueprint, available at no cost and open source to all California counties.
