FARGO — North Dakota has started to seal from public view criminal cases that are brought against innocent defendants, though some will have to file a petition to close those records.

House Bill 1166 required county courts to start closing nonconviction records that were dismissed or acquitted starting Aug. 1. Defendants who had their cases dismissed or received acquittals before the beginning of this month will have to file paperwork to seal their records, according to the bill North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed into law April 23.

Judges and attorneys can see those records, but members of the public cannot access them, said Jaclyn Hall, executive director for the North Dakota Association of Justice.

“We felt it was important to make a change for those individuals,” she said.

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