(a) Whenever in any criminal case, on or after October 1, 1969, the accused, by a final judgment, is found not guilty of the charge or the charge is dismissed, all police and court records and records of any state’s attorney pertaining to such charge shall be erased upon the expiration of the time to file a writ of error or take an appeal, if an appeal is not taken, or upon final determination of the appeal sustaining a finding of not guilty or a dismissal, if an appeal is taken. Nothing in this subsection shall require the erasure of any record pertaining to a charge for which the defendant was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect or guilty but not criminally responsible by reason of mental disease or defect.
(b) Whenever in any criminal case prior to October 1, 1969, the accused, by a final judgment, was found not guilty of the charge or the charge was dismissed, all police and court records and records of the state’s or prosecuting attorney or the prosecuting grand juror pertaining to such charge shall be erased by operation of law and the clerk or any person charged with the retention and control of such records shall not disclose to anyone their existence or any information pertaining to any charge so erased; provided nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the arrested person or any one of his heirs from filing a petition for erasure with the court granting such not guilty judgment or dismissal, or, where the matter had been before a municipal court, a trial justice, the Circuit Court or the Court of Common Pleas with the records center of the Judicial Department and thereupon all police and court records and records of the state’s attorney, prosecuting attorney or prosecuting grand juror pertaining to such charge shall be erased. Nothing in this subsection shall require the erasure of any record pertaining to a charge for which the defendant was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
(c)
(1) Whenever any charge in a criminal case has been nolled in the Superior Court, or in the Court of Common Pleas, if at least thirteen months have elapsed since such nolle, all police and court records and records of the state’s or prosecuting attorney or the prosecuting grand juror pertaining to such charge shall be erased, except that in cases of nolles entered in the Superior Court, Court of Common Pleas, Circuit Court, municipal court or by a justice of the peace prior to April 1, 1972, such records shall be deemed erased by operation of law and the clerk or the person charged with the retention and control of such records shall not disclose to anyone their existence or any information pertaining to any charge so erased, provided nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the arrested person or any one of his heirs from filing a petition to the court or to the records center of the Judicial Department, as the case may be, to have such records erased, in which case such records shall be erased.
(2) Whenever any charge in a criminal case has been continued at the request of the prosecuting attorney, and a period of thirteen months has elapsed since the granting of such continuance during which period there has been no prosecution or other disposition of the matter, the charge shall be nolled upon motion of the arrested person and such erasure may thereafter be effected or a petition filed therefor, as the case may be, as provided in this subsection for nolled cases.
(d)
(1) Whenever prior to October 1, 1974, any person who has been convicted of an offense in any court of this state has received an absolute pardon for such offense, such person or any one of his heirs may, at any time subsequent to such pardon, file a petition with the superior court at the location in which such conviction was effected, or with the superior court at the location having custody of the records of such conviction or with the records center of the Judicial Department if such conviction was in the Court of Common Pleas, Circuit Court, municipal court or by a trial justice court, for an order of erasure, and the Superior Court or records center of the Judicial Department shall direct all police and court records and records of the state’s or prosecuting attorney pertaining to such case to be erased.
(2) Whenever such absolute pardon was received on or after October 1, 1974, such records shall be erased.
(e)
(1) The clerk of the court or any person charged with retention and control of such records in the records center of the Judicial Department or any law enforcement agency having information contained in such erased records shall not disclose to anyone, except the subject of the record, upon submission pursuant to guidelines prescribed by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator of satisfactory proof of the subject’s identity, information pertaining to any charge erased under any provision of this section and such clerk or person charged with the retention and control of such records shall forward a notice of such erasure to any law enforcement agency to which he knows information concerning the arrest has been disseminated and such disseminated information shall be erased from the records of such law enforcement agency. Such clerk or such person, as the case may be, shall provide adequate security measures to safeguard against unauthorized access to or dissemination of such records or upon the request of the accused cause the actual physical destruction of such records, except that such clerk or such person shall not cause the actual physical destruction of such records until three years have elapsed from the date of the final disposition of the criminal case to which such records pertain.
(2) No fee shall be charged in any court with respect to any petition under this section.
(3) Any person who shall have been the subject of such an erasure shall be deemed to have never been arrested within the meaning of the general statutes with respect to the proceedings so erased and may so swear under oath.
(f) Upon motion properly brought, the court or a judge of such court, if such court is not in session, shall order disclosure of such records (1) to a defendant in an action for false arrest arising out of the proceedings so erased, or (2) to the prosecuting attorney and defense counsel in connection with any perjury charges which the prosecutor alleges may have arisen from the testimony elicited during the trial, or any false statement charges, or any proceeding held pursuant to section 53a-40b, or (3) counsel for the petitioner and the respondent in connection with any habeas corpus or other collateral civil action in which evidence pertaining to a nolled or dismissed criminal charge may become relevant. Such disclosure of such records is subject also to any records destruction program pursuant to which the records may have been destroyed. The jury charge in connection with erased offenses may be ordered by the judge for use by the judiciary, provided the names of the accused and the witnesses are omitted therefrom.
(g) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any police or court records or the records of any state’s attorney or prosecuting attorney with respect to any information or indictment containing more than one count (1) while the criminal case is pending, or (2) when the criminal case is disposed of unless and until all counts are entitled to erasure in accordance with the provisions of this section, except that when the criminal case is disposed of, electronic records or portions of electronic records released to the public that reference a charge that would otherwise be entitled to erasure under this section shall be erased in accordance with the provisions of this section. Nothing in this section shall require the erasure of any information contained in the registry of protective orders established pursuant to section 51-5c. For the purposes of this subsection, “electronic record” means any police or court record or the record of any state’s attorney or prosecuting attorney that is an electronic record, as defined in section 1-267, or a computer printout.
(h) For the purposes of this section, “court records” shall not include a record or transcript of the proceedings made or prepared by an official court reporter, assistant court reporter or monitor.
Conn. Gen. Stat. ยง 54-142a
(1949 Rev., S. 8840; 1963, P.A. 482; 642, S. 72; 1967, P.A. 181; 663; 1969, P.A. 229, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 635, S. 1; 1972, P.A. 20, S. 2; P.A. 73-276, S. 1, 2; P.A. 74-52, S. 1, 2; 74-163, S. 1-3; 74-183, S. 152, 291; P.A. 75-541, S. 1, 2; P.A. 76-345; 76-388, S. 4, 6; 76-436, S. 10a, 551, 681; P.A. 77-429; 77-452, S. 40, 41, 42, 72; P.A. 81-218, S. 1; P.A. 83-486, S. 7; P.A. 91-3; P.A. 93-142, S. 3, 8; P.A. 95-133, S. 1; P.A. 96-63, 96-79, S. 1; P.A. 99-215, S. 18, 29; P.A. 02-132, S. 60; P.A. 08-151, S. 1; P.A. 12-133, S. 23; P.A. 17-216, S. 5.)
Amended by P.A. 17-0216, S. 5 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2017 Regular Session, eff. 10/1/2017.
Amended by P.A. 12-0133, S. 23 of the the 2012 Regular Session, eff. 10/1/2012.
Annotations to former section 54-90: All police and court records include transcripts of criminal proceedings; prohibition against disclosure of information includes transcripts and applies to everyone. 165 C. 152. Application of statute to claim of denial of right to speedy trial. 174 C. 89. Cited. 29 CS 333; Id., 344; 30 CS 108; Id., 181; Id., 197; Id., 211; 31 CS 179. Preliminary motions in criminal cases entitled State v. Anonymous, in view of section. Id., 292; Id., 353. Cited. 32 CS 304; 33 CS 55. Subsec. (f) must be construed to allow disclosure not only to defendant in action for false arrest but also to defendant in action for malicious prosecution. Id., 158. Cited. 34 CS 527; Id., 656. Subsec. (c) applies where nolle was properly and unconditionally entered. 35 CS 516. Cited. 6 Conn. Cir. Ct. 655; Id., 667; Id., 751, 752. Annotations to present section: Cited. 179 C. 617. Fingerprints, pictures and description and other identification data regulated by Sec. 29-15 are not among the records whose disclosure is governed by this statute. 192 C. 488. Because disputed testimony was based on personal knowledge independent of the erased records, statute did not bar its admission. 200 Conn. 440. Cited. 201 Conn. 517; 206 C. 100. Act not intended to obliterate memory or to exclude any testimony not shown to have been derived from erased records. 216 C. 541. Cited. 227 Conn. 641; 232 C. 922; 237 Conn. 339. Although the state may not use the erased records to prove the basis for the sentence enhancement, the erasure provisions of this section do not prohibit the imposition of a sentence enhancement pursuant to Sec. 53a-40b after the records pertaining to the charges for which defendant was on pretrial release have been erased; this section and Sec. 54-142c do not categorically preclude the state from seeking to establish basis for sentence enhancement by use of evidence other than erased records. 319 C. 494. Defendant was entitled to erasure under statute; confidentiality afforded by Sec. 46b-11 does not sufficiently protect this right. 2 CA 472. Cited. 3 CA 590. Statute does not prevent police officers from testifying at subsequent parole hearing. 5 CA 343. Cited. 10 Conn.App. 103; 11 Conn.App. 224; 20 Conn.App. 737; 37 CA 62; judgment reversed, see 237 C. 501; 38 Conn.App. 777; 40 Conn.App. 705; judgment reversed, see 240 Conn. 590; 41 CA 649. When a law enforcement officer has been ordered by the court to vacate an arrest warrant, this is a mandatory duty; failure to do so may not be excused by governmental immunity. 110 CA 389. Trial court had no authority to impose sentence enhancement for crime committed while released on bond when, prior to sentencing, the records relating to the arrests that led to defendant’s release on bond had been erased pursuant to section. 146 CA 641; judgment reversed in part, see 319 Conn. 494. Cited. 35 CS 186. Early release of transcripts to defendants during criminal trial not a violation of statute since, in event of acquittal, they would be entitled to them under provisions of Subsec. (f). 36 CS 9. Information contained in records automatically erased is unavailable to state in further proceedings. Id., 91. Cited. 38 CS 661; 40 Conn.Supp. 20; Id., 38; Id., 38; Id., 498; 41 CS 356. Subsec. (b): Term “records” does not include evidence obtained by police in the course of an investigation, nor does it preclude testimony of witnesses as to their personal recollection of events. 68 CA 596. Subsec. (c): Cited. 179 C. 1; 180 Conn. 153; 185 Conn. 199; 197 C. 602; 198 Conn. 435; 200 C. 453; 209 Conn. 52; Id., 133. Given that a dismissal or erasure pursuant to Subsec. (a) or (b) would trigger application of Sec. 53-39a, court concluded same result should follow erasure of records of a nolled case under this Subsec.; judgment of Appellate Court in 40 Conn.App. 705 reversed. 240 Conn. 590. In a matter where pretrial conference failed to result in agreement, statement by state to court that “case is going to remain on the firm trial list” did not equate to continuance at request of the prosecuting attorney; the phrase “continued at the request of the prosecuting attorney” requires an explicit, overt act of asking for continuance on part of state; Supreme Court does not adopt Appellate Court’s interpretation of this section as speedy trial statute because such interpretation undermines and is inconsistent with Secs. 54-82c, 54-82d, 54-82l and 54-82m in terms of finality provided by said sections and specific procedural requirements contained therein. 286 C. 666. Explicit request required from state to continue case and statement indicating that case is to remain on firm trial list is not sufficient for continuance under statute. 99 CA 579. Information contained in records automatically erased after nolle is unavailable to the state in the preparation of a new warrant. 36 CS 91. Subsec. (d): Meaning of “court records” discussed and construed. 183 Conn. 183. Subsec. (e): Cited. 208 C. 411. By filing notice of intent to institute an action against town, defendant has waived provision of Subsec. that would otherwise permit him to have his arrest records destroyed; judgment of Appellate Court in 37 Conn.App. 62 reversed. 237 Conn. 501. Subsec. (f): By filing notice of intent to institute an action against town, defendant has waived nondisclosure provision of Subsec.; judgment of Appellate Court in 37 Conn.App. 62 reversed. 237 Conn. 501. Subsec. (h): Court properly prospectively applied “court records” exclusion and properly concluded that plaintiff’s right to erasure did not vest until he was found not guilty on March 22, 2000. 67 CA 221.
See Sec. 29-15 re return of fingerprints, pictures and descriptions, etc. to persons found not guilty or whose cases are dismissed or nolled. See Sec. 46b-146 re erasure of police and court records of delinquent children. See Sec. 54-76o re erasure of police and court records of youthful offenders.
