Law school collaborates with lawmakers during expungement fair


(Left photo) Pictured are (left to right) WMU-Cooley Associate Dean and Innocence Project Director Tracey Brame, Michigan State Representative Kara Hope, Michigan State Representative Sarah Anthony, and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel at the expungement fair on March 23 at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in Lansing; (Right photo) WMU-Cooley student Frances Silney-Bah (left), volunteered at a recent expungement fair. She was supervised by Attorney Guy Sweet (center) and Ingham County Public Defender Russel Church.


MSU Law student Kyle Walters (right) and attorney and WMU-Cooley graduate Amia Banks of Clark Hill PLC/WMU Cooley Alumni help clients have with expungement paperwork on March 23.

(Photos courtesy of WMU-Cooley)

In collaboration with Michigan  Representatives Sarah Anthony (Lansing) and Kara Hope (Holt), Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, the Capital Area Michigan Works!, Safe and Just Michigan, and Nation Outside, Western Michigan University Cooley Law School held an expungement fair at the law school’s Lansing campus.

During the fair, volunteer attorneys and law students under the supervision of licensed attorneys assisted 85 guests with their expungement paperwork.

Expungement removes arrests and convictions from a person’s public criminal record. Criminal offenses that have been expunged are no longer accessible to employers or landlords.

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 new 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.

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