FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For additional information, please contact:

Zina Frazier, Helpline Managing Attorney

Center for Arkansas Legal Services

501-376-3423

In order to serve their community and increase access to justice, the Center for Arkansas Legal Services is partnering with local Pro Bono Attorneys to host a criminal record sealing clinic to provide free legal help to low-income Arkansans seeking to seal their criminal records. The clinic seeks to improve the lives of low-income Arkansans, whose past criminal record may bar them from obtaining employment, securing housing, or qualifying for a loan for a car, home, or education. Arkansans seeking help must have completed all the terms and conditions of their probation and paid all fines or costs that were part of their sentence.

The clinic will take place on Thursday, August 30, 2018, at the El Dorado Conference Center, 311 S. West Ave, El Dorado, AR 71730. Appointments are required and will begin at 10:00 a.m.

Arkansans who need help will have the opportunity to speak to an attorney and walk away with all the legal documents that they need to file with the court. To make an appointment, contact Zina Frazier or Julie Howe with the Center for Arkansas Legal Services at 501-376-3423.

Individuals must bring a copy of their criminal background check from the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC) to the clinic, a copy of their Sentencing Order, and their driver’s license or state-issued ID. Documents showing the successful competition of probation may also be helpful. Arkansans who do not have these forms should visit the clerk's office where they were sentenced and request a copy. The clerk may charge a $5 fee to obtain copies.

Not everyone is eligible to have their criminal record sealed. You must have been convicted in Arkansas. If you have spent any time in the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) you are not eligible to have your criminal record sealed. Additionally, Class Y Felonies, Class A or B felonies that are not drug offenses (unless sentenced under the First Offender’s Act), Manslaughter, an unclassified felony with a maximum sentence of more than 10 years, violent felonies, and sexual offenders whose victims were under the age of 18 years, are not eligible to have their criminal record sealed. Arkansans seeking help must have been sentenced under a statute that allows for expungement.

The Center for Arkansas Legal Services is a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to low-income Arkansans with civil legal problems, including expungements, foreclosure prevention, consumer issues, housing, help for victims of domestic abuse, and representation in public benefits. To see if you qualify for legal assistance please call 1-800-950-5817 or visit www.arlegalservices.org.