SANTA ANA, CA. – The Foundation for Continuing Justice, in partnership with the Law Firm of Higbee & Associates, is pleased to announce the winners of the third annual Criminal Record Policy Essay Competition.

After reviewing outstanding essays from all over the country, four winners were chosen.

First Place – Kevin Hempy – Pepperdine Caruso School of Law

Second Place – Kayley Berger – UC Irvine School of Law

Third Place – Cecilia Le – University of Oregon

Runner-Up – Ameya Gehi – University of Michigan Law School

The winning essay did an outstanding job analyzing the existing state of Iowa’s expungement law. The essay made recommended that Iowa take a more nuanced approach to its 8 year waiting period by allowing less serious misdemeanors to be eligible sooner. It also recommended that the expungement statute that provided for automatic expungement for non-conviction records without a fee. The first place essay can be read here.

Ms. Berger’s essay argued that the burden of expungement “should not be placed on the individual to petition the court and district attorney for expungement, but rather that the burden should be on the state to automatically expunge all eligible criminal records.” The second place essay can be read here.