State v. Malo
State v. Malo, 2020 UT 42 (Himonas, J.)
Expungement
The district court found that it was not in the public interest to grant the defendant’s request to expungement his criminal charges and arrest record after his unlawful-sexual-conduct case was put on hold. The Utah Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court, holding:
- The district court was justified in using its discretion to deny the defendant’s expungement request. The court did not err when it heard the State’s objection to expungement. The Expungement Act clearly provides the State with the right to support or object to a petition for expungement, both orally and in writing. And the court did not improperly credit the presumption of innocence the defendant enjoys. Under the circumstances of this case, a mere invocation of the “presumption of innocence” does not overcome a required public-interest finding.