RESOURCE: How to get your marijuana record expunged in every county
Proposition 207 created the ability to clear your marijuana criminal record. We put together this guide to show you how to do it.
We asked court clerks and county attorneys in all 15 Arizona counties how expungements are working and compiled this handy county-by-county guide.
If you know someone who may have a marijuana-related arrest, charge or conviction in Arizona, this guide is for them. Help us get it in their hands by sharing the link to this newsletter post or forwarding it their way. So far, expungements have been slow on the uptake since they started in mid-July. We want to help improve that.
Proposition 207, which legalized marijuana for adult use in 2020, included the ability to expunge pot records. If you were arrested, charged, convicted or acquitted of these offenses before Nov. 30, 2020, you can file for an expungement:
Possessing, consuming or transporting 2.5 ounces or less of marijuana, of which not more than 12.5 grams was in the form of marijuana concentrate
Possessing, transporting, cultivating or processing six marijuana plants or less at your primary residence for personal use
Possessing, using or transporting paraphernalia related to the cultivation, manufacture, processing or consumption of marijuana
If you’re unsure how much pot you had during an arrest, it’s on the government to prove it was more than 2.5 ounces.
The Arizona Courts’ website has expungement forms you can use for any jurisdiction, including superior, municipal and juvenile courts. The website also has instructions for how to file an expungement.
The Arizona Expungement Coalition’s website, azexpunge.org, contains tons of helpful information and lets you check your eligibility and find free legal help, if needed. You can contact the coalition at 1-800-722-4026 or info@azexpunge.org. Their work is funded by a grant set up by Prop 207, which was awarded by the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Arizona NORML created a web form that will populate petition forms for you when you enter your case-specific information.
The expungement process should be free. Your county may help you file, or volunteer attorneys could help as well. The Arizona Expungement Coalition holds free legal clinics around the state to help people file for expungements.
You’ll want to seek information from the court your case was handled in originally. That could be a municipal, juvenile or superior court.
Information for each county is listed below, in order of population size. You can find your county by scrolling through or by using the search function (Control+F or Command+F) and entering your county’s name.
For the number of cases in each county, we received these totals in mid- to late-August, depending on the county, so they likely have increased since then.
One county — Apache — didn’t answer our emails yet. We’ll add them if we hear back, but the fact that they can’t answer an email about this doesn’t bode well for their ability to process legally required expungements.
Maricopa County
County expungement website: https://www.maricopacountyattorney.org/446/Prop-207. The county is prioritizing which cases it files a motion on, though. To be considered a priority case, the person must not have any pending felony cases and must not have been convicted of any other felonies aside from those they’re seeking to expunge under Prop 207. “With us filing thousands of these, we’d rather file for the person that expungement will make a real difference for,” said Jason Kalish, Division Chief of the Trial Division at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
The Maricopa County Superior Court’s Law Library Resource Center also has forms and instructions on its website: https://superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/llrc/crex1.
How many cases so far: The county attorney’s office proactively reviewed about 7,500 cases from the last five years that it thought would be eligible and will file petitions on more than 7,000 of those, Kalish said. So far, about 700 people have asked the county to file a petition on their behalf, and the county has agreed in about 81% of those cases. Between the proactive review and web requests, the county has filed about 4,500 petitions. The county has received only about 300 petitions from defendants asking for expungements, and they have objected to only a handful.
The county attorney’s office set a target of filing 400 per day, which is “about the the most our staff can handle,” Kalish said.
The Superior Court in Maricopa County said last week that it has granted 3,643 petitions for expungement since the process started in mid-July.
How filing works: People can file a petition on their own, or they can ask the county attorney’s office to file a petition on their behalf using the above form. “The new law says that all filings should be free,” Kalish said. “We don’t want anyone to have to pay to fill out a form that they could do themselves, or have us do on their behalf.”
Pima County
County expungement website: https://www.pcao.pima.gov/prop207/
How many cases so far: The court showed 19 petitions filed on the criminal bench, with one granted so far, and eight on the juvenile bench as of August 19, according to Krisanne LoGalbo, the public information officer for the Arizona Superior Court in Pima County. Gabriel “Jack” Chin, senior counsel in the Pima County Attorney’s Office, said the office has made filings in 54 cases, six of which were responses to petitions filed by individuals. In those six cases, the county filed one opposition, but agreed in the others that the person was entitled to some relief, Chin said.
How filing works: Pima County has a form you can fill out to find out if your case is eligible for expungement. For additional assistance, the Pima County Public Defender provides a virtual or phone legal clinic that’s free and open to the public, LoGalbo said. To make an appointment, call (520) 724-2285 or visit www.pima.gov/KnowYourRights. The county attorney’s office began proactively filing cases on July 12, but now gets enough requests via the county website to keep them busy, Chin said.
Pinal County
County expungement website: https://coscpinalcountyaz.gov/assets/Petition-to-Expunge-Marijuana-related-offense_records_cv_firearm_Criminal_Case.pdf
How many cases so far: Pinal County has received 11 petitions for expungement, according to Mike Pelton, the public information officer at the Pinal County Attorney’s Office. Of those 11, the county responded to three and didn’t respond to eight, Pelton said.
How filing works: Pinal county isn’t filing expungements proactively. The county is filing only if they have objections, and only if the amount of marijuana in questions exceeds the thresholds established by Prop 207.
Yavapai County
County expungement website: https://yavapaiaz.gov/coatty/prop207
How many cases so far: Unclear. The Yavapai County Attorney’s Office said the courts would have numbers, but we haven’t heard back from the courts there yet.
How filing works: The county does not appear to be filing cases proactively. The county is using the forms on the Arizona Courts website, the county’s website says.
Yuma County
County expungement website: No specific county website or form. Use the state courts’ forms.
How many cases so far: The county has processed five so far, Clerk of Superior Court in Yuma Court Lynn Fazz said.
How filing works: People can drop off, mail or email their signed forms to the county clerk’s office, which will transfer them to the county attorney for review, Fazz said. Then, the county attorney’s office makes a recommendation to the courts, Fazz said. It doesn’t appear that Yuma County is filing petitions for expungement proactively at this time.
Mohave County
County expungement website: http://mohavecourts.az.gov/clerk/ExpungeMarijuana.htm
How many cases so far: Mohave County has seen four cases so far, one of which was granted. The other three are pending, Mohave County Clerk of Superior Court Christina Spurlock said. “We haven't done as many expungements so far as I thought we would,” Amanda Claerhout, an attorney in the Mohave County Attorney’s Office, said. She said they had one defendant who was in prison with other counts, but got a marijuana possession count expunged while in prison.
How filing works: Claerhout said Kingman’s municipal court is filing cases proactively, but the county attorney’s office is not because of bandwidth. “We have three attorneys in the drug unit, including myself, and we all have fairly high caseloads, so we just don't have that person to go back through and find out which cases are applicable,” she said.
Coconino County
County expungement website: No specific county website or form. Use the state courts’ forms. Coconino County Attorney William Ring said filers can seek assistance with legal aid groups.
How many cases so far: Unclear. Court clerk has not responded to questions; Ring deferred to them for these figures.
How filing works: The Coconino County Attorney’s office isn’t proactively filing expungements because they lack the capacity to do so, Ring said. The office will review each filing and will respond if needed. “We expect the majority of Petitioners who qualify for expungement under the Prop 207 conditions, and who file a complete Petition, will find success in most cases,” Ring said.
Cochise County
County expungement website: https://www.cochise.az.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=43
How many cases so far: There are 43 cases in progress, though it’s not clear if any are completed yet, said County Attorney Brian M. McIntyre.
How filing works: The county’s website has a link to the forms, which are the ones provided by the Arizona courts. Initially, people believe that clicking the website completed their forms and filed them, McIntyre said, but that was not the case. The county is changing its process to start filing for people they don’t object to, and notifying those they do object to with the reasons for the objection. Some have filed for expungement when their cases don’t qualify, he said.
Navajo County
County expungement website: No specific website. Using state courts forms.
How many cases so far: One case was completed, and none are in progress, said County Attorney Brad Carlyon.
How filing works: The county attorney’s office isn’t proactively filing for expungements on people’s behalf, but the office has helped at local clinics. In August, the office, along with other groups, helped assist 50 people with marijuana expungements and setting aside convictions on other crimes. None of the 50 who showed up needed help with a marijuana expungement, Carlyon said. Carlyon said he doesn’t have the staffing levels for proactive filings, but if someone asks for assistance with the application or has a question about whether their case qualifies, the office will assist them.
Gila County
County expungement website: https://www.gilacountyaz.gov/government/courts/clerk_of_the_court/superior_court_self_service.php
How many cases so far: Five expungements are in process in Gila County, according to Clerk of Superior Court in Gila County Rebecca Phillips. None are completed yet.
How filing works: People filing in Gila County can use the Arizona Courts’ forms and process to file on their own. The county doesn’t appear to be proactively filing petitions for expungements.
Santa Cruz County
County expungement website: No specific county website or form. Use the state courts’ forms.
How many cases so far: Two petitions were filed as of August 19, according to Juan Pablo Guzman, Clerk of the Superior Court in Santa Cruz County.
How filing works: The county does not appear to be filing cases proactively. The Santa Cruz County Attorney did not respond to our questions.
Graham County
County expungement website: https://www.graham.az.gov/DocumentCenter/View/5892/H15-Expungement-Of-Records-PDF
How many cases so far: “Several” petitions so far, said Graham County Attorney L. Scott Bennett.
How filing works: The county isn’t filing cases proactively. Provided a petition meets the legal requirements, Graham County’s practice is not to object to the filing, Bennett said.
La Paz County
County expungement website: No specific county website or form. Use the state courts’ forms. But the courts also have allowed Maricopa County Superior Court forms to be filed in La Paz County with a corrected caption, according to Ryan Dooley, Chief Deputy County Attorney at the La Paz County Attorney’s Office.
How many cases so far: Dooley said the courts have “probably ruled on several with several more in process.”
How filing works: The process starts with the defendant, meaning the county isn’t proactively filing cases. The state then reviews the petition to determine if the individual qualifies, Dooley said.
Greenlee County
County expungement website: No specific county website or form. Use the state courts’ forms.
How many cases so far: The county has had a few cases so far, less than 10 for sure, said Greenlee County Attorney Jeremy Ford. Ford said he met with legal aid groups about how to find people whose lives may be hindered by a criminal record.
How filing works: Greenlee County doesn’t have the staff needed to proactively file for cases that qualify for expungement. But the practice is to review the cases quickly, make sure they qualify and file notices of not contesting the case to move the process along quickly, Ford said. “We’re just trying to stay out of people’s way when they do it,” he said.