A program intended to help eligible individuals clear their juvenile records is back this weekend in Summit County as it hosts another Clean Slate expungement clinic.
Clean Slate has previously provided expungement services for adult records, but it decided to expand that to individuals with juvenile records, said Russel Nichols, a staff attorney at Summit Legal Defenders and the director of Clean Slate. The county held its first clinic focused on clearing juvenile records in March.
Often, people incorrectly believe their juvenile offenses are automatically destroyed or permanently removed after they turn 18, Nichols said.
鈥淎 lot of people, after they turn 18 or later in life, go to get a lot of professional licenses or jobs that may run FBI or VCI background checks,鈥� said Nichols. 鈥淭hey are shocked to learn they still have criminal records from before they were 18 that prevent them from having those jobs.鈥�
In , most juvenile records are eligible for expungement five years after the court issues a sealing order, or on the offender鈥檚 23rd birthday once an expungement request has been filed.
Having juvenile records follow you as an adult can feel like a 鈥渓ifelong scarlet letter鈥� Nichols said.
The most common misperception is that expungements happen automatically, Summit County Juvenile Court Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio said.
鈥淚 hope this kind of clinic has the effect of having people realize that it鈥檚 okay to come back to court and have your record sealed鈥� We are really trying to help people do that,鈥� said Tucci Teodosio. 鈥淚f you paid your debt鈥� you should feel comfortable coming to court and having that cleared so you can go forward with鈥� a clean slate.鈥�
The will be held at the Summit County Juvenile Court from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Individuals can have their expungement request heard the same day. The clinic is free and open to individuals with a juvenile record involving a crime committed in Summit County.
They'll get a chance to review their records with an attorney, either from the Summit Legal Defenders or the Summit County Prosecutor鈥檚 office, Nichols said.
Judge Tucci Teodosio said the next step is for the request to be heard either by her or one of her magistrates, who will review it to ensure it meets . Several county prosecutors will also be present, Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich said.
鈥淲e deal with people who make mistakes and sometimes people make mistakes repeatedly,鈥� Kolkovich said. 鈥淏ut on the flip side when people do the right thing鈥� and lead a great productive and law-abiding life well we want to help those people. We want to take care of those people and make sure we reward everything they done.鈥�