AN ACT relating to victims of human trafficking.

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AN ACT relating to victims of human trafficking. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 529.160 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) When a person is charged or convicted under this chapter, or with an offense which 4
is not a violent crime as defined in KRS 17.165, and the person's participation in the 5
offense is determi ned to be the [direct ] result of being a victim of human 6
trafficking, the person may petition[make a motion in] the court in which the 7
charges were filed to vacate the judgment of conviction, expunge all records of the 8
offense, or both. 9
(2) (a) The petition for relief under this section may be filed at any time after the 10
final judgment is entered by the court in which the charges were filed. The 11
petition shall include a certification of eligibility for expungement as 12
required by KRS 431.079. 13
(b) Any person filing a petition for relief may request to seal the record. The 14
clerk shall immediately seal the record which shall remain sealed until the 15
court rules upon the request. If the court grants the request to seal the 16
record, the petition and any related pape rs or pleadings shall be filed under 17
seal and remain sealed unless opened by a higher court. 18
(3) (a) Upon the filing of a petition for relief under this section, the Circuit Court 19
clerk shall serve a notice of filing upon the office of the Commonwealth's 20
attorney or county attorney that prosecuted the case and the county attorney 21
of the county where the judgment was entered. 22
(b) The office of the Commonwealth's attorney or county attorney that 23
prosecuted the case shall file a response to the petition for relief within 24
twenty-one (21) days after being served with the notice of filing. 25
(c) If a response is n ot filed, the court shall deem the petition for relief 26
unopposed and may grant the petition without a hearing. 27
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(4) (a) If the court determines that a hearing on the petition for relief is necessary, 1
the court shall set a date for the hearing, which shall b e held no later than 2
thirty (30) days after the filing of the response. 3
(b) The hearing shall be closed if the court has sealed the record or upon 4
agreement of the parties. The person who filed the petition for relief may: 5
1. Appear at any hearing held und er this subsection telephonically, via 6
video conference, or by other electronic means; or 7
2. Waive his or her right to be present at any hearing held under this 8
subsection if he or she is represented by counsel. 9
(5) (a) Any person filing a petition for rel ief under this section may submit 10
supporting documents, exhibits, or other evidence. 11
(b) An official determination or documentation shall not be required to find 12
that the person's participation in the offense was a result of being a victim 13
of human traffic king, but documentation from a federal, state, local, or 14
tribal governmental agency indicating that the defendant was a victim at the 15
time of the offense shall create a presumption that the defendant's 16
participation in the offense was a result of being a v ictim of human 17
trafficking. 18
(6) If the court finds based upon a preponderance of the evidence that the person's 19
participation in the offense is the result of being a victim of human trafficking, 20
the court shall: 21
(a) For a person convicted of the offense, order the judgment vacated; 22
(b) Order the case file to be sealed or remain sealed as ordered under 23
subsection (2)(b) of this section; and 24
(c) Order expunged all records in the custody of the court and any records in 25
the custody of any other agency or offici al, including law enforcement 26
records. The court shall order the expunging on a form provided by the 27
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Administrative Office of the Courts. Every agency with records relating to 1
the arrest, charge, or other matters arising out of the arrest or charge that is 2
ordered to expunge records shall certify to the court within sixty (60) days of 3
the entry of the expungement order that the required expunging action has 4
been completed. All orders enforcing the expungement procedure shall also 5
be expunged. 6
(7) If an expu ngement is ordered under subsection (6) of this section, an appellate 7
court which issued an opinion in the case shall order the appellate case file to be 8
sealed and direct that the version of the appellate opinion published on the 9
court's website be modifi ed to avoid use of the defendant's name in the case title 10
and body of the opinion. 11
(8) For a person charged with the offense but not convicted, a finding by the court 12
that the person's participation in the offense was a result of being a victim of 13
human trafficking shall deem the charges as dismissed with prejudice. 14
(9) (a) Upon entry of an order vacating a felony conviction, the person's ability to 15
vote shall be restored and the person may register to vote if the person is not 16
prohibited from voting for any other reason. 17
(b) 1. Upon entry of an order to expunge the records, the proceedings in the 18
case shall be deemed never to have occurred. The court and other 19
agencies shall delete or remove the records from their computer 20
systems so that any official state -performed background check will 21
indicate that the records do not exist. The court and other agencies 22
shall reply to any inquiry that no record exists on the matter. The 23
person whose record is expunged shall not be required to disclose the 24
fact of the reco rd or any matter relating thereto on an application for 25
employment, credit, or other type of application. 26
2. Inspection of the records included in the order may thereafter be 27
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permitted by the court only upon petition by the person who is the 1
subject of the records and only to those persons named in the petition. 2
(10) This section shall be retroactive[The motion shall be filed no sooner than sixty (60) 3
days following the date the final judgment was entered by the court in which the 4
charges were filed. 5
(3) (a) A motion filed under this section, any hearing conducted on the motion, and 6
any relief granted are governed by KRS 431.076, 431.078, and 431.079 unless 7
otherwise provided in this section. 8
(b) For the purposes of expungement under KRS 431.076, a finding by the court 9
that the person's participation in the offense was a direct result of being a 10
victim of human trafficking shall deem the charges as dismissed with 11
prejudice. 12
(c) No official determination or documentation is required to find that the 13
person's participation in the offense was a direct result of being a victim of 14
human trafficking, but documentation from a federal, state, local, or tribal 15
governmental agency indicating that the defendant was a victim at the time of 16
the offense shall create a pres umption that the defendant's participation in the 17
offense was a direct result of being a victim]. 18