Editorial: Focusing on the wrong offenses

Thursday, Sept. 26, 2002 | 9:11 a.m.

The nation's drug laws are tough but not entirely unforgiving. Laws vary from state to state, but most people who are picked up on a first-time drug charge -- if it's no more than a misdemeanor -- can salvage their records. If they agree to probation before a judgment is rendered, if the charge is dropped for lack of evidence, if they are acquitted, or if they complete court-ordered conditions, they can petition the courts to expunge the arrest from their record. An example would be a college student arrested for possessing or smoking marijuana at a concert or fraternity party. Expunging his record allows his life to go forward without penalty for this youthful indiscretion. On job applications he can legally say that he has no arrest record. The promise by a court to expunge such a record is what inspires many people to undergo counseling or other program s that can divert them from possible addiction.

In expunging a record, the court must trust that the person involved will learn from his close call. And the person must trust that his career can indeed go forward undamaged. This is why we disagree with the Clark County School District's bill draft proposed for the 2003 Legislature regarding background checks on potential employees. The school district wants to gain access to police records on drug offenses that have been officially expunged.

If the reason for the power of courts to expunge records is not carefully considered, the school district's request seems reasonable. District employees work with children and children deserve protection. But in this case, the gain to children is hard to discern, as the only offenses eligible to be expunged are relatively minor ones that did not result in a conviction.

In the past two years, 15 school district employees have been prosecuted on sexual crimes. We encourage the school district to turn its attention away from minor drug offenses that the courts have forgiven, and turn its full attention to better background checks for sexual offenses, which can never be forgiven.