GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids is hosting an expungement fair this Saturday at the MLK Community Center, giving hundreds of people the opportunity to clear their criminal records.
300 people have already preregistered, said the city. Organizers are anticipating hundreds more to show up on the day of the event.
Brandon Davis, managing director of the Grand Rapids Office of Oversight and Public Accountability, said people should be prepared to wait before their turn.
The fair operates as a one-stop shop for people looking to get their records cleared after serving their time. People with misdemeanors and potentially some felony convictions on their records could walk away with a clean record, provided certain conditions are met.
The waiting periods required before a conviction can be removed are:
- Misdemeanors: 3 years
- Single felony: 5 years
- Multiple felonies: 7 years
"A lot of times it's almost like a scarlet letter that they carry around, and the expungement process helps them to remove that. But this isn't just about them. It's about their children and all the people connected to them, because when a parent has a criminal record, not only can the parent not live in certain places, the child can't either," Davis said.
Davis said the event currently has half a dozen volunteer attorneys signed up to help, but they are in desperate need of many more.
"This changes lives, and it changes lives generationally. So we love this work, not just because it's important work to do, it is, but because it's life-changing work," Davis said.
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