Rhode Island's second chance law expanded expungement eligibility and created automatic expungement for certain dismissed cases, acquittals, and no-file decisions by prosecutors. The law made over 50,000 Rhode Islanders newly eligible to clear their criminal records. It also includes a decriminalization provision that lets people convicted of offenses since decriminalized, such as small-amount marijuana possession, file for expungement immediately without a waiting period. The law continues to roll out in stages, with the Rhode Island Judiciary processing thousands of automatic expungements in the first year of the program. Many convictions previously ineligible for expungement now qualify under the expanded framework.
