Dallas Bar hosting Free Expunction Clinic

The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP), a joint initiative of the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, will hold a free Expunction Clinic for Dallas County residents who meet certain financial guidelines at the West Dallas Multipurpose Community Center located at 2828 Fish Trap Rd. monthly, every third Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Texas law allows individuals to permanently remove information about an arrest, charge or conviction from their permanent records in certain circumstances. This is called an expunction. Once a person’s record is expunged, all information is removed from the criminal record and that person can deny the incident ever occurred. Records eligible for expunction include an arrest for a crime that was never charged; a criminal charge that was ultimately dismissed; certain qualifying misdemeanor juvenile offenses; conviction of a minor for certain alcohol offenses; conviction for Failure to Attend School; arrest, charge or conviction on a person’s record due to identity theft by another individual that was actually arrested, charged or convicted of the crime; conviction for a crime that was later acquitted by the trial court or the Criminal Court of Appeals; and conviction for a crime that was later pardoned by the Governor of Texas or the U.S. President.

Not all individuals with records eligible for expunction above qualify to receive an expunction. If a person does not qualify for an expunction, they may qualify for a Non-Disclosure Order. This order does not completely destroy all record of the offense, but will limit the accessibility of the records.

Volunteer attorneys will provide free legal assistance for low-income Dallas County residents to assist with expunction and non-disclosure orders.

If residents need assistance before or after the Expunction Clinic, they can attend one of the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program’s other legal clinics held in the Dallas area several times each month. For a full listing of the clinic, log on to http://dallasvolunteerattorneyprogram.org/get-help/.