Utah Admin. Code R671-315-1 - Pardons

(1) A pardon is an act of grace that forgives a criminal conviction and restores the rights and privileges forfeited by or because of the criminal conviction. A pardon releases an applicant from the punishment prescribed for a criminal offense and from disabilities, to the extent allowable by law, that are a result of the criminal conviction. A pardon reinstates any civil rights lost as a result of conviction or punishment for a criminal offense, to the extent allowable by law.

(2)

(a) The Board may consider an application for a pardon from any individual who has been convicted of an offense in Utah, after the applicant has exhausted judicial remedies, including expungement, in an effort to ameliorate the effects of the conviction.

(b) Absent extraordinary circumstances, the Board will accept and consider a pardon application only after at least five years have passed since the sentence for the conviction and any enhancement period has terminated or expired.

(c) The Board will not consider pardons for infractions.

(3)

(a) A person seeking a pardon from the Board must complete and submit, to the Board's satisfaction, an application in a form approved by the Board. Every requirement of this rule is subject to reasonable accommodations when requested by the applicant.

(b) No pardon application will be accepted unless it has been signed by the person whose convictions are sought to be pardoned.

(c) Posthumous pardon applications will not be accepted or considered.

(d) A pardon application will not be considered unless the applicant is willing to personally attend the pardon hearing.

(4) In addition to the completed application, the applicant shall provide to Board staff, where possible, other relevant information including:

(a) any police reports concerning the conviction for which the applicant is seeking a pardon;

(b) any pre- or post- sentence reports prepared in connection with any sentence served in jail or prison, and for any conviction for which the applicant is seeking a pardon;

(c) the applicant's inmate files;

(d) a recent Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) report, National Crime Information Center (NCIC) report, and Interstate Identification Index (III) report concerning the applicant;

(e) verification from the applicant or a third party, including the Office of State Debt Collection, that imposed restitution, fines, fees, or surcharges have been satisfied ; and

(f) verification from the applicant that the applicant completed therapy programs ordered by any court or by the Board.

(5)

(a) Board staff shall summarize information collected or submitted regarding the application and provide the application and additional information to the Board.

(b) As allowable by law, Board staff shall disclose to the applicant, before the hearing, any information obtained or received by the Board regarding the pardon application which is not from the applicant.

(c) The Board may request additional information from staff or from the applicant.

(6) Once complete, and if otherwise compliant with Board rules, the pardon application and any available relevant information will be considered by the Board, which shall vote to grant or deny a pardon hearing.

(7) If a pardon hearing is granted:

(a) notice of the hearing shall be published on:

(i) the Board's web site; and

(ii) the Utah Public Notice web site; and

(b) for each conviction which is the subject of the pardon hearing, notice of the hearing shall be mailed or otherwise sent to:

(i) any victim of record, if the victim can be located;

(ii) the arresting or investigating agency;

(iii) the sentencing court; and

(iv) the respective prosecuting agency.

(8) In furtherance of the Board's obligation to conduct a full and fair hearing, the following pardon hearing procedures apply:

(a) The pardon applicant shall personally appear and shall be required to testify. The applicant may designate a few family members or other supporters to offer testimony at the hearing, if time allows.

(b) Any victim of a conviction for which a hearing has been scheduled may offer testimony, or may submit written material concerning the pardon request. Any victim may designate a representative to testify on the victim's behalf at a pardon hearing.

(c) An authorized representative of the arresting or investigating agency, sentencing court or prosecuting agency for each conviction which is the subject of the hearing may offer testimony or may submit written material concerning the pardon request.

(d) The Board may subpoena any person to attend and testify at a pardon hearing if it determines that such testimony will aid the Board in making a decision regarding the pardon request.

(e) Any person not otherwise specified in this rule may submit letters in support of or in opposition to a pardon request.

(f) Any testimony or written material regarding a pardon request must be relevant, and must comply with other Board administrative rules.

(g) Statements or other material submitted regarding a pardon application or hearing may not be submitted anonymously.

(h) The Board may refuse to accept, remove from an applicant's file or pardon application, or refuse to consider any statement or material submitted which is irrelevant, inflammatory, defamatory, hearsay, or which does not otherwise conform to Board rules.

(i) The Board may manage the hearing as appropriate to promote efficiency.

(9) A pardon hearing may be conducted by the full Board, or by a panel or a single Board Member assigned by the Board Chair. If conducted by a panel of the Board, the Board Chair may appoint members to the panels in any combination.

(10) The Board may deny a pardon, grant a conditional pardon, or grant an unconditional pardon. The applicant will be notified in writing of the results as soon as practicable.

(11) Pardon decisions must be made by a majority vote. Pardon decisions are final and are not subject to judicial review.

(12) Upon granting a pardon, the Board shall issue an expungement order, directing any criminal justice agency to remove the recipient's identifying information relating to the expunged convictions from its records.

(a) An expungement order, issued by the Board, has the same legal effect and authority as an order of expungement issued by a court, pursuant to Title 77, Chapter 40, Utah Expungement Act.

(b) The Board shall provide clear written directions to the pardon recipient along with a list of agencies known to be affected by the expungement order.

(c) If the offense that was pardoned subjected the applicant to a registration requirement pursuant to Title 77, Chapter 41, Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry, the Board shall issue notification to the Department of Corrections of the pardon and direct that the applicant be removed from the registry.

(13) The Board may dispense with any requirement created by this rule for good cause.

Notes

Utah Admin. Code R671-315-1

Amended by Utah State Bulletin Number 2016-15, effective 7/7/2016 Amended by Utah State Bulletin Number 2022-12, effective 6/9/2022