People convicted of crimes in Cumberland County can seek to get their records cleared this year, and for free, through an expungement clinic being offered by the Project Fresh Start nonprofit organization.
And for those who don’t qualify to get their criminal records expunged, Project Fresh Start will offer advice on resources to help them get jobs or advance their education and otherwise move forward with their lives despite having a record, said the organization’s Executive Director and former Cumberland County Commissioner Charles Evans.
An information session for the expungement clinic has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, at Seabrook Auditorium at Fayetteville State University. Participants will learn more about the program and can sign up to request an expungement, Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West told CityView.
The annual expungement clinic is being conducted by Project Fresh Start, the Cumberland County District Attorney Office, the Cumberland County Public Defender Office, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin, and private attorneys, West said.
This clinic is only for people convicted of crimes that occurred in Cumberland County, West said. People whose convictions were in other counties need to go to those counties to seek an expungement.
People in any of the following circumstances can get convictions expunged, West said:
- Someone with one nonviolent felony conviction from more than 10 years ago.
- Someone with multiple nonviolent misdemeanor convictions from more than 7 years ago.
- Someone with nonviolent convictions for crimes they committed when they were under 18 years old.
These are for violations of North Carolina law, not federal law.
After people sign up at Thursday’s meeting, West said, his staff at the District Attorney Office will review their records to see whether they qualify for an expungement, and there will be follow-up meetings with those people. The process will include a review by a judge, he said, and other officials.
West said those who qualify should receive their expungements before the end of the year. They will be notified when their records are cleared, he said.
People seeking further information about the clinic can call West’s office at 910-475-3010 or call Evans at 910-978-6643.
Free service to help restart lives
Cumberland County has been conducting the Fresh Start expungement clinics since 2017. West and Evans said a criminal record can make it difficult for a person who has straightened out their life after committing a crime to get a job, go to school, get a place to live or otherwise get ahead.
Evans has previously told CityView about his felony convictions from early in his life, how an expunction helped him. “It’s like a ball and chain being removed from you,” he said on Feb. 10.
West estimated that more than half of those who have applied for expungements through Project Fresh Start are able to get their records cleared, and since 2017, more than 1,000 people have received expungements.
The Fresh Start expungement clinic offers its services at no charge for people who can’t afford to hire a lawyer, West said.
People who don’t use the Fresh Start clinic can get their records by hiring a lawyer. The lawyer fees can run from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, several attorneys told CityView.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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Wish I would have known that I would have showed just saw it on the news my charge was marijuana possession from 30 years ago mabey I can attend next years