Expungement clinic scheduled for July 30

The Rutland County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Vermont Attorney General’s office will host a virtual expungement clinic to help people with minor criminal histories get more opportunities. “We have been routinely handling requests to expunge criminal records. The statute does provide that certain people can have their criminal records expunged. We’re happy to be working with (Vermont) Legal Aid and the Attorney General’s Office to be hosting a clinic,” said Rose Kennedy, state’s attorney for Rutland County.

Vermont Legal Aid’s website explains that most misdemeanors can be be expunged unless they’re violent or sexually-based crimes or driving offenses. Under Vermont law, many misdemeanors, 14 different felony offenses and all dismissed charges can be expunged. Individuals in Rutland County have taken advantage of the state’s laws to have eligible parts of their criminal history by expunged or sealed, but David Scherr, an assistant attorney general in the office of Attorney General T.J. Donovan and co-chief of the community justice divisions, said the clinics are a chance to approach the process with the assistance of a lawyer in filling out the forms and getting the forms submitted to a state’s attorney or the court.

The state’s attorney can stipulate that the particular charges of a particular person should be expunged or sealed but in some cases, the applicant can persuade a judge to take those actions even if the state’s attorney’s office doesn’t support the request.

“People can apply for expungements on their own. There are forms you can pick up at a court or through the court website. It’s not too hard to do but, of course, it’s better to have a lawyer help you when you’re dealing with legal documents,” Scherr said.

A judge is not expected to be part of the clinic to approve or deny the requests but Scherr said that in many cases, the state’s attorney’s office or the attorney general’s office will stipulate the offense should be expunged.

“When that happens, then it’s pretty much automatic. The courts just pretty much grant those and that means the person doesn’t have to do anything else,” he said.

Scherr added that there were exceptions but the general rule for expungement is that they will be granted only if five years has passed since the applicant has completed his or her sentence. If the prosecuting office doesn’t agree to expungement ahead of that schedule, there is no opportunity to apply directly to the court.

The clinic is not for applicants looking to expunge convictions from federal court. Scherr said what he had heard from people who went through the process of having a record expunged or sealed was that the greatest benefits related to jobs.

“Having that record can make it really tough to find a good, stable, decent-paying job and having those records expunged is a huge benefit to getting better work, higher-paying work, more stable work. There’s actually been studies done that show that people who get expungements, at least in one cohort, on average, their income rose by 20%, just in the first year after getting that expungement,” he said.

In a news release announcing the Rutland County clinic, Donovan explained the benefits of the process.

“Expunging criminal records gives Vermonters a fresh start by providing greater educational, economic and social opportunities,” Donovan said in a statement.

Kennedy said she had no specific insight into how much of a hindrance it could be to have a criminal record for Vermonters.

“But if the statute provides that they can be expunged, then I want people to be able to take advantage of that statute. This is a good opportunity for them to figure that out and if they’re eligible, wipe some things off their record,” she said.

The clinic will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 30. The free clinic will focus on expunging criminal charges and convictions from Rutland County and will be open to the public by telephone appointment.

Vermonters should schedule appointments in advance by calling the Attorney General’s Office’s expungement clinic line at 828-0033.

Visit Vermont Legal Aid’s website at for more information on expungements.

Visit vtlawhelp.org/expungement to find more information on the expungement process.

patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com