Pro Bono News

City Mission to Hold Expungement Day (WA)

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

City Mission to Hold Expungement Day

"The Legal Clinic at the City Mission in Washington, as well as Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services and the Washington County Bar Association, are coming together March 29 to host a free criminal expungement clinic for residents of the City Mission homeless shelter and income-eligible members of the public.

The “Expungement Day” program will take place at the City Mission, 84 W. Wheeling St., from 9 a.m. to noon. City Mission residents will have an opportunity to meet with the volunteering attorneys beginning at 9 a.m., and eligible members of the public will be able to receive expungement assistance beginning at 10 a.m. Preregistration is requested, but walk-ins will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

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 and non-convictions, so long as the person making the request has received no additional convictions for the past 10 years.

“Often, even lower-level misdemeanor criminal offenses committed years ago can become a major barrier to getting a job and attaining adequate housing. Our goal is to help them navigate the expungement process and free themselves from these burdens,” said attorney Mary Bates, who founded The Legal Clinic at the City Mission more than 10 years ago..."

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