Expungement clinic to be held at City Mission in Washington
Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Aid and the Washington County Bar Association are holding a free criminal expungement clinic for residents at City Mission in Washington and income-eligible members of the public.
The “Expungement Day” program will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Friday at the City Mission located at 84 W. Wheeling St. in Washington.
An expungement is a legal court order that destroys a criminal record and removes it from public view. The court will also consider requests to shield from public view nonviolent misdemeanor convictions, so long as the person making the request has received no additional convictions for the past 10 years.
All criminal and summary cases filed with a court in Pennsylvania, including those cases that do not result in convictions, are posted online, making them accessible to the public.
“The Clean Slate Act affords Pennsylvanians a new opportunity for employment and housing they have been denied because of their past records,” said Brian Gorman, executive director of Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Aid. “The law is designed for people who deserve that second chance, and volunteer lawyers with the bar association are generously donating their time to help the public with this effort.”
The City Mission’s Legal Clinic has joined with Legal Aid and the Bar Association for expungement clinics in 2017 and 2019, resulting in dozens of petitions to expunge records. Attendees who are ineligible for Clean Slate will be screened for the Pardon Project of Washington County, which matches those who have past nonviolent felony or misdemeanor convictions with volunteer “pardon coaches” to help them submit pardon applications to the state Board of Pardons.
In addition to residents of the City Mission, members of the public also are welcome to attend Expungement Day, and those with a total household income of 187.5% of the federal poverty guidelines or below are eligible for free legal aid. Volunteer attorneys from the Washington County Bar Association will be available at the event to discuss other legal resources and referral options for those who are not income-eligible for assistance.
Pre-registration is requested, but walk-ins will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. For information and to pre-register for the Expungement Day program, contact SW PA Legal Aid at 724-225-6170 or 800-846-0871. More information about the pardon project can be found at www.spla.org/pardon.