PITTSFIELD, Mass. — 2nd Street, together with Community Legal Aid, will hold a free clinic on how to seal or expunge a criminal record on Thursday, May 14 from 1-2:30 pm. 

 

The clinic will be held at the 2nd Street offices, located at 264 Second Street, Pittsfield. Private consultations will be available.

 

Community Legal Aid attorney Annie Maurer will lead the clinic, which will cover legal rights with respect to housing and employment for those with a criminal record, as well as sealing and expungement of such records. Maurer will explain the four types of sealing/expungement: sealing by mail, sealing by court, age-based expungements and reason-based expungements.

 

The clinic is particularly designed for those who have either never been found guilty of a charge or who have fulfilled the requirements of a guilty plea or verdict. Such persons often have difficulty finding or keeping housing or employment due to their Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) report, which landlords and employers commonly use for background checks. Legal experts will be on hand to help decode CORI and determine if eligible charges may be sealed or expunged.

 

Community Legal Aid (CLA) provides free civil legal services to low-income and elderly residents of Central and Western Massachusetts. To learn more, visit  www.communitylegal.org.