July 18, 2018
VLS recent grad Kassie Tibbott helps a Vermonter with his expungement petition.
For most people convicted of crimes in Vermont the conviction stays on their record for the rest of their lives, impairing their employment, education, and housing options. This is true even for people who are legally eligible to have the conviction removed through a process known as expungement.
To facilitate expungements, the Center for Justice Reform partnered with two forward-thinking Vermont prosecutors to help host two expungement days. Working in conjunction with the prosecutors and Vermont Legal Aid, the Center and VLS student volunteers helped approximately 30 citizens remove old marijuana convictions from their record.
The expungement days were supported by a grant from The Pennywise Foundation which has made an additional contribution to VLS so it can launch a more regular expungement project which will be spearheaded by Stephanie Clark, the Assistant Director of the Center for Justice Reform.