Page 15 - Delaware Lawyer - Spring 2022

Coalition works collaboratively to plan community expungement and pardon clinics, refer cases to the vari- ous agencies, and identify systemic problems. The Second Chances Co- alition is comprised of APEX (Ad- vancement through Pardons and Expungements), the ACLU of Dela- ware, DCJ (The Delaware Center for Justice), DVLS (Delaware Volunteer Legal Services), DOJ (Department of Justice), and ODS, along with addi- tional stakeholders.
Each agency has different areas of focus and expertise: APEX assists in- dividuals with the pardon process; the ACLU and DCJ facilitate mandatory expungements and have grant funding to help individuals pay the fees associ- ated with mandatory expungements; DVLS specializes in FDIC waivers and also assists with mandator y and dis- cretionary expungements; and ODS specializes in discretionary expunge- ments in Superior and Family Court, complex legal representation, and any juvenile expungements.19 These agen- cies routinely coordinate with each other to run expungement and pardon clinics along with office hours at pub- lic libraries and community centers throughout the state. Our goal is to meet clients in the community, where it is more convenient for them to seek record clearing services. For example, the Second Chances Coalition hosted a Second Chances Workshop at the Route 9 Library in partnership with a hiring event for various area employ- ers on April 28, 2022. More than 400 people attended the event.
Call for Attorney Volunteers
Having the opportunity to help someone receive a second chance is not limited to ODS or the Second Chanc- es Coalition. There are a lot of ways in which the Delaware Bar can provide pro bono assistance to help individuals clear their criminal records. Assistance from attorneys is greatly needed and appre- ciated at the Second Chances Coalition expungement and pardon clinics and of- fice hours throughout the state to ensure that individuals understand their rights and the process to clear their criminal re- cord. In January 2022, during the DSBA Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Ser- vice, several devoted private attorneys volunteered their time to an expunge- ment clinic where they addressed attend- ees’ legal options to clear their criminal record, whether through an expunge- ment or a pardon.
Delaware attorneys who volunteer for expungement and pardon clinics will re- ceive training on how to walk through an expungement proceeding with as little or as much technical support from ODS as requested. ODS pre-screens attendees to provide an overview of what each client is eligible for. Then, the Second Chanc- es Coalition will mobilize to help with follow-through, financial assistance to cover the fees for mandatory expunge- ments, and any other assistance needed.
Because of the added categories of mandatory expungement eligibil- ity, momentum of the Second Chances Coalition, and pro bono opportunities to volunteer at expungement clinics, Delaware’s Clean Slate Act will likely change the life trajectory for so many
people. And, what has previously been an intractable problem will soon lead to more second chances and better life op- portunities for many more individuals looking to clear their criminal records in Delaware.
NOTES
1. John Reynolds & Jon Offredo, “Delaware Governor Signs Automatic Record Clearing Law,” Collateral Conse- quences Resource Center, Nov. 10, 2021, available at https://ccresourcecenter. org/2021/11/10/delaware-enacts-auto- matic-record-clearing-law.
2. ABA National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Convictions, available at, niccc.csgjusticecenter.org.
3. Karen Lantz & Lisa Minutola, Why the American Dream Is Out of Reach, 12 Dela- ware Lawyer Spring 2019.
4. https://www.paperprisons.org/Paper- Prisons.html
5. JJ Prescott & Sonja B. Starr Starr, Expungement of Criminal Convictions-An Empirical Study, 133 Harvard. L. Rev. 8 June 2020, 2460 (2020) pgs. 2466-67.
6. Id at page 2521.
7. 11 Del. C. 4371.
8. Karen Lantz & Lisa Minutola, Why the American Dream Is Out of Reach, 12 Delaware Lawyer Spring 2019, citing Sen- ate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 37 available at http://legis.delaware.gov.
9. 4 Del. C. 904(e) or (f).
10. 16 Del. C. §4764
11. 16 Del. C. §4771.
12. 16 Del. C. §4756 (for Class G felony drug possession)
13. 16 Del. C. §4757
14. 16 Del. C. §4758
15. 16 Del. C. §4760
16. 11 Del. C. §828
17. 11 Del. C. §861
18. 11 Del. C. §903
19. The Family Court has exclusive juris- diction of juvenile mandatory and discre- tionary expungements. As such, the only avenue for relief for a juvenile expunge- ment is to petition the Family Court. If the expungement is granted, it is then recorded and processed by SBI within
90 days following the court order for ex- pungement.
For more information on volunteering at an expungement clinic or joining the Second Chances Coalition, please contact Eliza Hirst at the Office of Defense Services: eliza.hirst@delaware.gov, 302-577-5217.
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