LANSING, Mich. – On Oct. 17, Cooley Law School, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Attorney General, Legal Services of South Central Michigan, and Safe & Just Michigan, held an expungement fair to aid in the removal of certain arrests and convictions from qualifying individuals’ public criminal records.
There were 89 individuals screened through the pre-registration and onsite walk-in process with 48 individuals qualifying for expungement. During the fair, volunteer attorneys and law students under the supervision of licensed attorneys assisted 30 qualified guests who attended the fair with their expungement paperwork.
Michigan law has always allowed for expungements, but the “Clean Slate” legislation enacted in 2020 made more individuals and offenses eligible for expungement. Under the law, individuals with up to three expungement-eligible felonies and any number of misdemeanors can have their records expunged. Certain traffic violations and first-time operating while intoxicated offenses can be expunged. Additionally, misdemeanor marijuana convictions that would not have been considered crimes after recreational marijuana was legalized in Michigan can be expunged.
Expungement removes arrests and convictions from a person’s public criminal record, which makes prior convictions inaccessible to employers or landlords. Cooley Law School has hosted several expungement fairs since 2023, which has resulted in hundreds of individuals being able to have their criminal records expunged.
“Everyone deserves a chance to show that they are more than their mistakes,” said Tracey Brame, Cooley Law School associate dean and professor, and director of the Cooley Innocence Project. “Michigan’s expungement law gives citizens the opportunity to do just that.”