Inland Counties Legal Services launched an expungement-clinic project last month to help low-income residents of Riverside and San Bernardino counties clear convictions from their records.
The need for expungement assistance was evident, said ICLS pro bono coordinator Paulette Gray by phone Oct. 28. Convictions on rap sheets are often an obstacle to employment, housing, school loans and more, so people seeking pro bono help were calling ICLS regularly.
“‘Now I feel like I can start again,’ ‘Now my child will look at me differently because I don’t have this technically on my record,’ ‘I’m a different, better person.’ These are all comments that I’ve heard as an attorney doing this type of work.”
Paulette Gray
“People call in all the time to the intake line, and they were being referred out to other agencies,” said Gray, who previously worked for the San Bernardino Office of the Public Defender, and immediately before her current position did pro bono expungements in her private practice.
Gray says this project is empowering for clients who are working to live moral and lawful lives.
“It helps them reintegrate into society as a tax-paying citizen, going to work every day and getting an education,” she said. “It allows for them to have that fresh start and to put these things that happened in their lives behind them.”
And it gives something to the ICLS staff and volunteers too.
“It’s really rewarding work when a client says, ‘Now I feel like I can start again,’ ‘Now my child will look at me differently because I don’t have this technically on my record,’ ‘I’m a different, better person,’” Gray said. “These are all comments that I’ve heard as an attorney doing this type of work.”
Since September, those callers are finding the guidance they’re looking for without being referred elsewhere. Gray said though the clinic project is just a few weeks old, some convictions have already been successfully expunged.
QUICK FACTS
- The criminal convictions must be in the Inland Empire.
- “We can clear petty theft, trespassing, vandalism, some assaults, fraud – there’s an extensive list,” said Gray. “Those are just some that I’ve personally dealt with.”
- They cannot clear murder, sexual assault of a child, serious violent felonies or any conviction that led to prison time.
- The client must have a copy of their California Department of Justice rap sheet (ICLS offers guidance on getting this.)
- The client must provide a livescan-fingerprinting document.
- The client should be prepared with documents such as letters of recommendation, vocational or academic certificates, and paperwork from sobriety programs.
- The best number to call for expungement assistance is 888-245-4257.
- Attorneys, law students and paralegals interested in volunteering with the ICLS expungement clinics can do so through www.inlandlegal.org
“All it takes is a call into ICLS,” Gray said. Clients make appointments to talk to an ICLS agent during the monthly clinics, which are on the third Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Each appointment runs about one to two hours, and the whole process can be completed remotely.
If a client is mid-way through a certificate or degree, Gray said she may advise to wait before filing the petition. The DA gets an opportunity to oppose it, so the advocates want to show there are no outstanding fines, pending charges or factors still in place that contributed to the past crime.
“The court is looking for whether the client has lived an upright life since conviction and has met the terms of probation,” she said. “We’re looking at how we can put people in the best light for the courts.”
Gray explained that many have the wrong idea about what expungement is.
“People think their record is wiped away,” she said. “It’s not erased. An expungement works to set aside someone’s guilty plea, and in essence it allows them to enter a plea of not guilty, and then the case gets dismissed. What remains on an individual’s rap sheet is a notation that says, ‘This case has been set aside and dismissed.’ It doesn’t ever go away.”
For getting an application accepted for a rental agreement, student loans or a job, the notation offers a real benefit, she said.
“It gives hope and a fresh start. It does all of that. But the notation remains even if someone has done everything to prove they’re living an honest and upright life.”
For government employment, such as law enforcement, public office and certain medical fields, people will always have to disclose an expunged conviction, she said.
Gray also noted that restoring a client’s firearm license post-conviction is difficult-to-impossible.
