Young Drug Offender Expungements in New Jersey

A Shorter Expungement Path for Certain Drug Offenses Committed at Age 21 or Younger

New Jersey ordinarily requires a person to wait a number of years before seeking expungement of an eligible criminal conviction. For a limited group of drug offenses, however, the Legislature created a much shorter route.

N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 allows certain individuals who were 21 years old or younger when they committed a qualifying drug offense to seek expungement after a minimum period of one year. This provision can make relief available considerably sooner than the ordinary expungement rules governing many criminal convictions.

Age alone does not establish eligibility. The statute places significant restrictions on the type of drug offense involved, the person’s prior and subsequent history, participation in diversionary programs, and compliance with probation or parole.

The Tormey Law Firm represents clients charged with a wide range of drug crimes, including marijuana possession, marijuana distribution, and prescription drug possession, in Parsippany, Denville, Dover, Morristown, Rockaway, Montville, and throughout Morris County. For a free consultation about your expungement eligibility, call our Morristown office at (908) 336-5008.

Who Qualifies as a Young Drug Offender?

For purposes of N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5, the relevant age is the person’s age when the offense was committed.

A qualifying applicant must have been 21 years old or younger at that time. It does not matter that the person may have turned 22 before the case was resolved or before the expungement application was filed.

The statute principally applies to qualifying convictions under Chapters 35 and 36 of New Jersey’s criminal code involving the possession or use of a controlled dangerous substance.

Because the provision is limited to specified drug offenses, being 21 or younger does not create a general one-year expungement period for unrelated criminal convictions.

The One-Year Waiting Period

One of the most significant features of N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 is its shortened waiting period.

A qualifying person may seek relief after at least one year has passed following the latest of:

• The conviction;
• Termination of probation or parole; or
• Discharge from custody.

The one-year period therefore does not necessarily begin on the date the case was decided.

For example, if someone received a two-year term of probation for an eligible offense, the person would not ordinarily become eligible under this section one year after the conviction while still serving that probationary term. The statute measures the waiting period from the latest applicable event.

Which Drug Offenses Qualify?

Possession and Use Offenses

N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 is primarily directed toward qualifying drug possession and use convictions, such as possession of a controlled dangerous substance, being under the influence, or possession of drug paraphernalia.

That distinction matters because New Jersey treats distribution-related convictions more restrictively under this particular statute. A person who was young when convicted of a drug offense should therefore determine the precise offense of conviction before relying on the one-year provision.

The statute under which the conviction was entered, not simply the fact that the case involved drugs, determines whether this specialized route is potentially available.

What About Distribution or Possession With Intent to Distribute?

As a general rule, N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 does not apply to a conviction for selling or distributing a controlled dangerous substance or possessing a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to sell it.

The statute contains limited exceptions involving marijuana and hashish.

A qualifying distribution or possession-with-intent conviction may fall within this provision when the offense involved:

• Marijuana totaling less than one ounce; or
• Hashish totaling less than five grams.

Those quantity limitations are important. A person should not assume that every marijuana-related distribution conviction committed at age 21 or younger qualifies for the one-year route.

What Can Prevent Relief Under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5?

Prior or Subsequent Criminal History

The shortened waiting period under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 is accompanied by strict eligibility requirements concerning a person’s other history.

The statute restricts relief when the applicant has been convicted of a previous or subsequent criminal act or has a previous or subsequent violation of the drug-offense provisions identified in the statute.

As a result, eligibility cannot be determined from the young-offender conviction alone. Events occurring before or after that case may prevent use of the specialized one-year procedure.

If N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 is unavailable because of another matter, that does not necessarily establish that the conviction can never be expunged. Eligibility under another provision of New Jersey’s expungement law would have to be considered separately.

Prior or Subsequent Diversion

N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 also restricts relief when a person has had a prior or subsequent criminal matter dismissed because of acceptance into supervisory treatment or another diversionary program.

This is significant because a diversionary disposition does not ordinarily result in a traditional conviction. Nevertheless, the Legislature expressly made prior or subsequent diversion relevant to eligibility for this particular form of expungement.

A history involving Pretrial Intervention or another diversionary disposition should therefore be considered before relying on the one-year young-drug-offender provision.

Probation and Parole Compliance

N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 also requires compliance with probation or parole.

The statute provides that relief is available only if, before the expungement hearing, the applicant has not violated any condition of probation or parole. Its language expressly encompasses a violation occurring after discharge from probation or parole.

This requirement is separate from the rule used to calculate the one-year waiting period. A person may have completed supervision long enough ago to satisfy the timing requirement but still need to consider whether a probation or parole violation affects eligibility under the statute.

How Does This Differ From Other Drug Expungements?

The young-drug-offender statute is only one part of New Jersey’s expungement law.

A person who does not satisfy N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 may still have another potential avenue for expungement. Depending on the conviction, the ordinary provisions governing indictable or disorderly persons convictions may apply.

Marijuana records require particular care because New Jersey subsequently enacted separate reforms providing specialized treatment for numerous marijuana and hashish offenses. A marijuana case should therefore be evaluated under current law rather than automatically placed into the young-drug-offender category merely because the person was 21 or younger. Learn more about marijuana expungement in New Jersey.

The significance of N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 is its expedited one-year opportunity for the specific group of offenders who satisfy its requirements.

What If the Drug Case Was Dismissed?

N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 addresses convictions. It should not automatically be used to analyze a drug charge that ultimately ended in dismissal.

A case dismissed outright or after successful completion of a diversionary program such as Conditional Discharge may instead fall under provisions governing non-conviction records.

This can make a substantial difference because the rules applicable to a dismissal are not the same as those governing expungement of a conviction under the young-drug-offender statute.

Where Can a Young Drug Offender Expungement Be Filed?

Current N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 permits an eligible person to apply to the Superior Court either in the county where the person resides or in the county where the conviction was disposed of.

This is significant for someone who no longer lives in the county where the original drug case occurred.

For example, a qualifying individual whose conviction arose in Morris County but who later moved elsewhere in New Jersey may have a venue option that did not exist under an older version of the statute. Local applications are generally handled through the Morris County Superior Court.

Young Drug Offender Expungement Attorneys in Morris County

The one-year waiting period makes N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 one of New Jersey’s more expedited conviction-expungement provisions, but its eligibility requirements are correspondingly specific.

A person considering this form of relief should confirm the age at the time of the offense, the statute of conviction, the substance and quantity involved where relevant, completion of probation, parole, or custody, and whether other criminal or diversionary matters affect eligibility.

The Tormey Law Firm represents clients seeking expungements in Morris County and throughout New Jersey. Our attorneys handle young-drug-offender applications as well as other drug-related expungements, traditional conviction expungements, dismissed charges, diversionary matters, marijuana records, juvenile drug matters, and Clean Slate applications.

If you were 21 years old or younger when you committed a drug offense in Morristown, Parsippany, Dover, Denville, Randolph, Madison, Rockaway, Mount Olive, or elsewhere in New Jersey, contact The Tormey Law Firm to determine whether N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5 or another expungement provision may provide relief. Call our Morristown office at (908) 336-5008, call toll-free day or night at 866-949-6948, or use our online contact form to schedule a free consultation.