New Ruling Clears Way for Prior Connecticut Cannabis Convictions to be Erased

ver since major legalization began taking hold in the U.S., one of the most primary questions has consistently been, “What about prior convictions?” Recently, a
new ruling in Connecticut has finally answered that question in the
affirmative.

According to Middletown
Press, those who have been arrested in the past for having small
amounts of cannabis on their person will now be able to have their convictions
erased, due to the fact that cannabis is now decriminalized, and small
possession is no longer a misdemeanor, just a small fine.

In 2011, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy along with state
legislators changed
possession of less than a half an ounce of cannabis from a misdemeanor with
potential jail time to a violation with a $150 fine for a first offense and
fines of $200 to $500 for subsequent offenses. The ruling in Nicholas Menditto’s
game-changing case was a unanimous 7-0 vote by the State Supreme Court to clear
him of prior and pending cannabis related charges.

“It’s a topic multiple states will have to be facing,”
stated Menditto’s attorney, Aaron Romano, to Middletown Press. “Because [cannabis] is being decriminalized
across the United States, this issue needs to be addressed.”

Justice Carmen Espinosa stated the following in the official
ruling: “The legislature has determined that such violations are to be handled
in the same manner as civil infractions, such as parking violations. The state
has failed to suggest any plausible reason why erasure should be denied in such
cases.”

This ruling will have huge consequences for everyone in
Connecticut who has a similar story, as well as the nation at large. A grave
transformation could be seen in the legal and justice system if courts
elsewhere look to this decision as a way to shape future policy. Only time will
tell.