When identity theft strikes a ‘daunting’ process for victims to clear names in court records awaits, lawmakers hear

When Amber Jochem’s sister got into legal trouble, she used Jochem’s name to avoid going to jail, which led to that name being connected to a crime she didn’t commit.

Clearing her name in court records proved very difficult, especially records that were not electronically searchable. Jochem said she needed to make many in-person trips to courts and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, often with fingerprint records in hand to make her case.

“Navigating our legal system is daunting,” she told the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee Tuesday.

She testified in support of a bill sponsored by Rep. Cedrick Frazier (DFL-New Hope) that would simplify how victims of identity theft or mistaken identity can expunge court records to clear their names.

“The intent of this bill is to restore the individual back to the point they were prior to the stealing of their identity,” Frazier said.

The panel approved HF1083 on a voice vote with no audible dissent and sent it to the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee.

The bill would provide that records in a criminal case are eligible for automatic expungement if the charges are dismissed based on a conclusion that the defendant was misidentified as a result of mistaken identity or identity theft.

Additionally, records of an arrest based on mistaken identity or identity theft could be destroyed or sealed in cases where charges are dismissed prior to a determination of probable cause, or the prosecutor declines to file charges and a grand jury does not return an indictment.

Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview), the committee’s chair, said that in her work as a prosecutor she had a case where someone pleaded guilty using another person’s name and the error was not discovered for some time. “It was a horrible situation.”

“Long overdue,” is how Rep. Paul Novotny (R-Elk River) describes the bill. “With identity theft becoming so prevalent, we need this mechanism in place … to protect innocent victims.”