Expungement is a waiting game for metro Detroiters seeking a clean record

Charles Powells was grateful, but frustrated.

It was 12:30 p.m. He'd been waiting since 8 a.m. outside Catholic Charities' Center for the Works of Mercy in Detroit for an Aug. 12 expungement clinic that started at 11 a.m. There, he'd have a chance to meet with pro-bono lawyers and begin the lengthy process of getting his record expunged.

But this wasn't the first clinic Powells had gone to. It wasn't his second, either. It was his third — and he was 19th in line. Others had been waiting outside the center since 6 a.m.

"It's chaotic. I don't want to cause no riff, I'm just frustrated," said Powells, 50, of Detroit. "We've got a system that doesn't give us any consideration."

Booker T. Walker, a returning citizen and criminal justice organizer with Michigan Liberation, tried to console Powells as he was making his rounds, offering help and guidance to the dozens of others waiting in line at the clinic Michigan Liberation helped organize.

"We can't wait on the government," Booker, 65, of Detroit told Powells. "We're doing the best we can. What else can we do?"

Powells is not alone in his frustration. Since new expungement legislation dubbed the Clean Slate Act took effect in April 2021, more people are eligible for criminal record expungement through an application process. But with high demand, technology hurdles and court backlogs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it takes about six months to a year, and sometimes longer, to get their clean slate.

Related: Gov. Whitmer signs bills expanding criminal record expungement in Michigan

"The system really was inundated with thousands and thousands of more applicants than in prior years, which is great, because all of those people are now eligible,” said Stephani LaBelle, who runs Detroit's Project Clean Slate, a city-run program specifically for Detroiters.

"And so the entities involved (in expungement), they're really working on scaling up and committed to continuous improvement. And we had been working with all of those agencies to streamline the processes and also kind of innovate new ideas on how we can help."

That includes connecting clients with resources during the expungement process, she said.

More than 15,500 Detroiters have applied for help with the expungement process through Project Clean Slate since January 2021, LaBelle said. Fewer than 2,000 of them remain on a waitlist, and all cases are expected be reviewed by the end of this year.

Before the Clean Slate Act, the program only processed about 1,200 applications each year.

LaBelle said Project Clean Slate's process is efficient, but acknowledged that clients are still subject to the court system's timeline.

The city estimates about 168,000 Detroiters are now eligible for expungement.

"I just want it gone," said Erica Vance, 43, of Detroit.

Like Powells, she had been to two other clinics in Wayne County before the Aug. 12 clinic. She didn't know she was eligible to expunge two nonviolent convictions from 2004 until this summer. For years, those convictions were hanging over her head, she said.

"Third time's a charm," said Vance.

Vance and others, however, have something to look forward to: automatic expungement.

Automatic expungement on the way

In late July, more than 2,000 people sought help at an expungement fair at Fellowship Chapel in Detroit hosted by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, the prosecutor's office, the state Attorney General's Office, Safe & Just Michigan and others.

It was cut a few hours short due to a computer system crash, said Kamau Sandiford, the clean slate program manager for Safe & Just Michigan. It was just one of many fairs and clinics that have experienced that type of delay, Sandiford said.

Most fairs and clinics encourage people to pre-register — that way organizers can run background checks to check expungement eligibility with Michigan State Police's ICHAT system prior to the event. But Sandiford said organizers are seeing many more walk-ins than people who have pre-registered.

"I'm not sure why that is, but that tends to create a lot of stress on the operation the day of, because we have to basically run a large number of ICHATs, or background checks, all at once — the system eventually crashed," Sandiford said.

"That's probably the single biggest issue that we see at these expungement fairs, the disproportionate amount of walk-ins versus people who have pre-registered."

That demonstrates just how high demand for expungement is, Sandiford said, and why these fairs and clinics are necessary.

There are other delays, too, outside of expungement clinics and fairs. Sandiford and LaBelle both noted that processing times vary from court to court. Without taking into account the backlog of court cases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it usually takes about three months or more for someone to have their initial hearing before a judge after filing their petition for expungement — timing also depends on when Michigan State Police and the Attorney General's Office complete the required background check and statutory eligibility analysis, according to Safe & Just's website.

And if an applicant has another conviction during the waiting period for expungement, the process takes even longer, Sandiford and LaBelle said.

But there's hope, Sandiford told the Free Press. In April, Michigan's automatic expungement process will go into effect, which would automatically clear certain convictions from records.

"Hopefully, once the automatic process is up and running, that will create less of a burden on the state to process these petitions because there won't be as many petitions being filed," he said.

Painful, but worth it

Vance and others told the Free Press that while the wait for a clean slate is a pain, it's worth it. They are grateful for the opportunity. The new expungement laws have already helped thousands of Michiganders by removing a barrier to employment, housing and other opportunities.

"You see people reborn when they leave here," local organizer and returning citizen David Hourani said at an expungement clinic at the Center of the Works of Mercy in late July.

Hourani isn't eligible to have his record expunged. But he volunteers at clinics because he can see the impact expungement has on people's lives.

Prior to the new expungement laws, a University of Michigan study estimated that only 6.5% of people eligible for expungement obtained a clean slate within five years of eligibility. The study also spoke to the impact expungement can have on economic mobility: It found that wages increase by an average of 25% within two years of expungement.

But expungement also offers a new chance at life, said Sandiford. It reduces the stigma surrounding criminal convictions and provides relief.

"Some people want the piece of mind that this isn't going to haunt them for the rest of their lives," Sandiford said.

Who is eligible for expungement?

Michigan's Clean Slate Act allows certain convictions to be wiped clean from public records after a period of time.

• Eligible offenses: Up to three felonies and an unlimited number of misdemeanors, with certain conditions on the types of offenses that qualify, can be expunged through an application process. No more than two assaultive crimes can be expunged, and no more than one felony conviction for the same offense if the offense is punishable by more than 10 years of imprisonment.

• Automatic expungement: Starting in April 2023, up to two nonviolent felony convictions and four nonserious misdemeanors will be eligible for automatic expungement, forgoing the lengthy application process in many cases.

• Waiting period: The waiting period to apply after sentencing or release (whichever occurred last) if the applicant remains conviction-free is three years for misdemeanors, five years for serious misdemeanors or one felony and seven years for multiple felonies.

• Traffic offenses: Most traffic offenses are eligible, including one-time drunken driving convictions, but excluding offenses that cause injury or death and Commercial Driver License violations.

• Marijuana misdemeanors: Misdemeanor marijuana convictions that would not have been crimes after recreational marijuana was legalized in Michigan can be expunged. Judges must grant expungements if prosecutors don't object.

More information on expungement eligibility and other resources are available at michigan.gov/ag/initiatives/expungement-assistance.

Where to get help

For Detroiters, attorneys with Project Clean Slate help guide people through the entire expungement application process and also help connect clients with resources, including educational and employment opportunities. 

For more information, visit detroitmi.gov/departments/law-department/project-clean-slate, 313-237-3024 or email projectcleanslate@detroitmi.gov.

The Michigan Department of the Attorney General also lists resources, available at michigan.gov/ag/initiatives/expungement-assistance .

Safe & Just lists a number of resources throughout Michigan, which can be found at safeandjustmi.org/our-work/clean-slate-for-michigan.

Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at asahouri@freepress.com or on Twitter @andreamsahouri. 

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Expungement a waiting game for metro Detroiters seeking clean slate