Criminal Expungement has long been an issue of special focus for the Ramsey County Law Library. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal adds more fuel to the fire for why this is an important issue in our community. The article reports that ccording to the FBI, authorities have made more than a quarter billion arrests in the last 20 years, with one out of every three adults on its database. Arrest alone can hinder efforts to land a job, a loan, or an apartment. Were you arrested as part of a youthful college protest decades ago? It can still leave lasting consequences your criminal record. Much of these massive arrest numbers are the result of action taken against what seemed like an out-of-control crime wave in the late eighties and early nineties. Fortunately crime has decreased since then, but unfortunately the same can probably be said about economic security. Modern security, after all, increasingly depends on having a job, a home, and a credit history.
The Law Library continues to be the location for expungement workshops held on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month. Now the Law Library is assisting in a new partnership with Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN) and the St. Paul Public Library to present expungement workshops at the Rondo Outreach Library. The inaugural workshop will take place on Friday, September 19 from noon to 3:00 p.m. Read more about VLN expungement workshops here.
