September 12, 2019

Printable poster (letter sized): Expungement Day Flyer

Honolulu, Hawai‘i: A free legal clinic to clear non-conviction arrest records will happen at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, 9/28/19. People wishing to confidentially connect with a legal volunteer to work on expungement this day must pre-register by 9/26/2019 at the website www.secondchanceshawaii.org.
The event is part of a national Expungement Week celebration, highlighting the lifelong damage that can be caused by arrest and conviction records, and empowering people to clear their names using their own states’ process for sealing (or expunging) the record.

Local organizations came together in 2019 to bring Expungement Week to Hawai‘i for the first time. In addition to the expungement clinic, an information fair will educate the public – especially allies and ‘ohana of people with arrest or conviction records - on efforts to reform the criminal legal system both nationally and in Hawai‘i, and resources for justice-involved people such as information about employment, housing, and voting rights.

Jennifer Brown, Associate Director of the Hawai‘i Innocence Project, said: “Even an arrest that never results in a conviction or a criminal charge that has been dismissed can have a negative effect on a person’s employment, housing, education and more. We are proud to bring Expungement Week actions to Hawai‘i, as even our beautiful state is not immune to the collateral damage of those involved in the criminal legal system. In 2019, together with local lawyers and law students generously volunteering their time, we’re focused on helping to expunge non-conviction arrests for people on the island of O‘ahu, but with the support of the community, we hope to expand the program next year, especially to the neighbor islands. We are here to say: ‘No matter your past, you often have the right to clear your name, it’s worth while to do so, and we’re here to help.’”

Expungement Week presenters include: The Hawai‘i Civil Rights Commission, Hawai‘i Innocence Project, Hawai‘i Friends for Restorative Justice, The Last Prisoner Project, Code for Hawai‘i, Community Alliance on Prisons, Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center, the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai‘i, and the ACLU of Hawai‘i.

For more information or to register: www.secondchanceshawaii.org