San Francisco’s top prosecutor says his office used technology to erase 8,000 marijuana convictions and reduce felony convictions to misdemeanours.
It is the first California prosecutor’s office to announce full compliance in clearing criminal records required when voters approved the broad legalization of pot.
District Attorney George Gascon made the announcement Monday, saying the non-profit Code for America organization used computer-based algorithms to identify eligible cases.
Proposition 64 wiped out convictions but provided no mechanism for how to identify cases.
Many county prosecutors say they don’t have the resources to sift through tens of thousands of cases.
Some defendants hired attorneys, but most of the estimated 200,000 California cases remain untouched.
Code for America says it is using its technology to help other prosecutors and is working with other prosecutors.
Paul Elias, The Associated Press
