New Jersey State Police must process expungement orders within 90-120 days, according to settlement terms

New Jersey State Police must process all known criminal expungement orders that are older than four months by Jun. 1, according to a lawsuit settlement between the agency and the state Office of the Public Defender. Expungement is the removal of an individual’s criminal records. The lawsuit was filed in 2023 when N.J. State Police fell two years behind in processing more than 46,000 expungement orders. Nearly 2,000 orders have been waiting review by county prosecutors with the most backlogged cases filed in Essex County, according to the public defender’s office. Settlement terms also includes an online portal where people can track the status of their expungement, a goal to resolve new expungement orders within 90 days, and publicly posted reports of expungement processing numbers within an 18-month period.

From NJ Advance Media.