Parolees Become Eligible for 402 Reductions in Utah

There’s been a theme lately of the Utah legislature making improvements to the laws on expungements and record reductions. (See Utah’s Clean Slate Law, and Utah Makes Drug Offenses Easier to Expunge). Good on them, I say.

Another small change to the language of the “402 Reduction” statute this spring didn’t get much press, but it’s a big deal for some people. Prior to this change, you were only eligible to reduce the level of your offense after your case was closed if you were put on probation and you successfully completed probation. So if you were sent to prison on a felony charge, you were out of luck.

But now, even if you were sent to prison and then paroled, and you successfully completed that parole, you are also eligible to make a 402 motion and reduce your conviction offense level.

This can be an especially big deal for those people who were convicted of a second degree or third degree felony, because you can now try and get those felonies reduced to misdemeanors, restoring your rights and making you no longer a “convicted felon.” It can also have the benefit of reducing the wait time to get your whole case expunged, or bringing you under the offense count to get eligible for expungement.

If you think this might apply to you, and you want to see if you’re eligible, reach out to my firm and we’ll talk it over.