A dozen people stopped by Delaware State University’s downtown Dover campus for the first expungement clinic hosted by DSU and the state Office of Defense Services.
Public defenders, Delaware’s Department of Labor and organizations like the Delaware Center for Justice, regularly host expungement clinics, helping people navigate the expensive and often confusing process of either expunging their record or seeking a pardon.
Nearly a third of Delawareans have criminal records eligible for mandatory expungement – meaning they have only a misdemeanor, an arrest or another minor incident on their record. Assistant Public Defender Eliza Hirst says these clinics only begin to address the need to make the process more accessible in Delaware. For example, Hirst says to begin the process, a person must visit a state police office and pay $52 for a copy of their certified criminal history.
“In order to go and get a certified criminal history, there are currently only three locations to do it in Delaware. Both the New Castle County and Sussex County locations are by appointment only," she said. "The Kent County location takes walk-ins, but their hours are fairly limited so it’s important to check when they’re available.”
While a new state law taking effect in 2024 automatically expunges the records of people with a minor misdemeanor or arrest, Hirst says most people who come to expungement clinics have more serious charges on their record.
“I think that after 2024, expungement clinics will be almost more necessary, because the people who aren’t eligible for that automatic expungement still need a lot of assistance to help clear their records," she said. "Those are the ones who have to go through the court process or the pardon process.”
Other attorneys note Delawareans still can’t expunge their record of civil cases, including citations for marijuana possession. Meanwhile, a New Castle County court is considering whether criminal records from other states are a bar to expungement in Delaware.
The expungement clinic was a first for DSU's downtown Dover Campus — part of a week of events on criminal justice reform organized in partnership with the school's chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Delaware Office of Defense Services. Assistant Dean of DSU's College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences says the clinic itself is an early step towards using the school's new campus to engage more directly in community affairs. "Compared to our main campus, this new location in downtown Dover puts us much closer to the communities who will benefit most from clinics like this," he said. "This is a chance for us to become even more civically engaged as a University."
