New Virginia clean slate law will create high demand for legal aid, experts say
RICHMOND — A new 'clean slate' law set to take effect next year will shield some past crimes from public viewing.
Advocates say that matters for people whose convictions haunt them for years after they've served their time. And legal experts say there's much to be done to prepare for the influx of people who will want to have their previous convictions sealed.
Attorney Scott Surovell, a Democratic state senator representing Fairfax, said people were already lining up to take advantage of the new law.
'I've got a list of about 30 people who contacted me over the last five years that want me to file sentence sealing petitions for them,' Surovell said Wednesday when he joined a panel of lawmakers and advocates to discuss the law's impacts. 'I have one client I've been waiting for 20, 30 years to do this… He's going to be the first one I file for.
'He had a petty larceny conviction for a $205 bag of baseball equipment when he was in high school and (it's been) following him around the rest of his life.'
The clean state law says qualifying misdemeanors and felonies can be sealed after seven years and 10 years, respectively, assuming the person doesn't commit any new crimes in the intervening time period.
The legislation has a delayed start date in part to accommodate the computer programming required to get the system up and running. Previously, the law had been delayed by four years to allow for the $20 million rebuild of the system for criminal recordkeeping and to give legislators time to mend some holes in the law. There won't be another delay; Surovell said the law will take effect July 1, 2026 'come hell or high water.'
Many past criminal convictions — including some felonies — to soon be sealed in Virginia
'I won't feel truly free until I can vote': Legal case challenges Virginia's voting restoration system
Youngkin moves to delay controversial law sealing criminal, court records from public view
There are other hurdles. Some offenses, such as marijuana possession, will automatically be sealed after the required waiting period. But most offenses that are eligible to be sealed require people to petition to do so, and that could prove challenging for an already strained legal system.
'There is a backbreaking demand out there, particularly within the low income population, for free and low cost legal services,' said Christa Gantz, director of Access to Legal Services at the Virginia State Bar, at Wednesday's panel. 'If (the case) is at all complicated, particularly the petition-based part of it, then utilizing an attorney will make a major difference in their ability to get relief.'
Over 1 million Virginians qualify for legal aid, Gantz said, and though there are legal assistance programs in the civil space that could help with conviction sealings, they would require significant staff and technology resources.
'Because this is a new law, what that means is it would require new programming, and I think that the challenges there are primarily funding,' she said. 'People in need are going to be contacting the courts, but then the next step is going to be the Virginia State Bar's Access Department, and they're going to say 'where can I get help?' What I would typically do as the director is refer to them to a program.
'We don't have that yet.'
Gantz said people able to pay for legal work can get started through the Virginia Lawyer Referral Service, and those who can't can get brief advice using the state bar's Virginia Free Legal Answers clinic. She thinks attorneys who do pro bono work in Virginia will be eager to help with sentence sealings, in part because they are limited in scope, don't take a ton of time and could have a big impact.
George Townsend, a criminal defense attorney, founded the law firm Clean Slate Virginia in preparation for the law's passage. He estimated that over 100,000 people could qualify for automatic or petition-based sentence sealing, with the caveat that it's a difficult number to project.
'I guess one of the good things about the delay is we have more time to let people know about it,' he said. 'There's going to be a huge volume, so getting ready for that…I've done criminal defense all my career, and I've told hundreds, maybe thousands of people 'you have a conviction, there's nothing we can do.' And I found out about the law and knew it was going to be a huge change.'
In preparation for the new cases, the General Assembly approved funding for an additional staff position in each clerk's office, effective as of July.
'This added capacity will help clerks manage the increased workload associated with the new law,' Townsend said. 'In my view, it would be highly beneficial if clerks permitted petitions to be filed in advance of the July 1, 2026 implementation date.
'Allowing early filings would enable a phased rollout, helping to avoid a surge of thousands of petitions on a single day and long lines forming outside courthouses across the commonwealth.'
Once a conviction record is sealed, it won't show up on public background checks for things like apartment and loan applications. Some employers, like police agencies, would still be able to see the details of the criminal record.
A dozen states, including Virginia, and Washington, D.C. have clean slate laws. Some legal experts maintain these kinds of laws prevent access to valuable insight on how fair the court process is and pose First Amendment right of access concerns. The counter argument is that there is a compelling public interest to have certain records sealed because of their prolonged impact.
The law also indirectly addresses barrier laws, which say, for example, that people convicted of felony drug possession could not then go on to become drug counselors. The barrier laws remain in effect, but if those convictions are sealed, they will not preclude people from doing that kind of work.
Kate Seltzer, kate.seltzer@virginiamedia.com, (757)713-7881
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Some Democrats are finally standing up to Trump – even if it gets them arrested
Not all Democrats are afraid to push back against Donald Trump's immigration policy. Some are willing to be detained. In safely blue areas of the country, constituents are asking themselves who has the audacity to stand up to President Donald Trump's extreme immigration agenda. Earlier this week, New York City constituents got their answer. On June 17, New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while escorting a man out of immigration court in Manhattan. Lander, who repeatedly asked to see a judicial warrant for the man ICE was attempting to detain, was held in custody for four hours. The federal government is still trying to decide whether it will charge him with a crime. 'We're not just showing up for just a few families, or for the strength of our democracy,' Lander told the supporters waiting for him outside the federal courthouse. 'We are showing up for the future of New York City.' While it's unclear that Lander's arrest will make any difference in his chances to be New York City's next mayor, one thing is now certain: He is the kind of person the city and Democrats need in the Trump era. Democrats should be fighting Trump's systematic hate Lander is now a member of an exclusive group of Democratic politicians who have gotten into legal trouble for combating the Trump administration's extreme deportation agenda. These politicians are not doing anything wrong – they are simply trying to stand up for the immigrants who make this country great. Opinion: Trump lied about the LA protests so you wouldn't see what he's really doing The first to face legal repercussions was Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, who was arrested in April and later indicted for allegedly assisting an undocumented immigrant in escaping arrest. Then in May, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested at an ICE detention center when three members of New Jersey's congressional delegation arrived for an unannounced inspection. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-New Jersey, who was also arrested that day, was indicted on June 10 for allegedly interfering with immigration officers. Less than a week before Lander's arrest, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, was handcuffed and thrown out of a Department of Homeland Security news conference. This defiance is encouraging to see. People who have the privilege of a public platform are putting their careers on the line to stand up for those who are being terrorized by the federal government. These actions, so long as they are peaceful, are how Democrats should be reacting to the Trump administration. We need a mayoral candidate who suits New York Until this moment, Lander had flown under the radar for the duration of the city's mayoral race. Despite his position as the city's top financial officer and an endorsement from a panel of experts with The New York Times, Lander has been polling behind front-runner Andrew Cuomo, a former New York governor, and Zohran Mamdani, a member of the New York State Assembly. Who is Zohran Mamdani? A Democratic socialist is running for NYC mayor. I hope he can rally voters. | Opinion It's not that Lander is a bad candidate – he's experienced and policy-driven, and he has a progressive view of what the city can be. He and Mamdani have cross-endorsed each other in the hopes of besting Cuomo in the ranked-choice voting system. Lander just doesn't have Cuomo's name recognition or Mamdani's charisma. By getting arrested, Lander has shown New Yorkers that someone is willing to stand up for their values of protecting immigrants. We don't have to elect Cuomo, who had to resign in disgrace in 2021 after more than a dozen women accused him of sexual harassment. Nor do we have to elect incumbent Eric Adams, who has welcomed ICE into our city against the wishes of the voters. Lander is showing us that we could have someone who is willing to fight the Trump administration while leading the nation's most populous city. And he's one of several showing Democrats the way forward. Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell stands behind doxing ICE agents even after officials said his actions put them in danger
The Democratic mayor of Tennessee's largest city, who has been accused of obstructing federal immigration efforts, defended his office's decision to publicly dox the names of immigration officers. Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell's defense came even after the names of federal immigration officials were removed from a public immigration report detailing a month's worth of immigration-related interactions between local police and federal immigration authorities. Initially, the public report detailed immigration officers' names, but following backlash over the move the names were taken down. 'I wouldn't say it was an endangerment process, I would say they may have some concerns – I'm far more concerned about the overall dynamic we have about unmarked, unidentifiable masked people whisking people into vehicles – i think that's a bigger concern,' O'Connell, who is currently under investigation by GOP House lawmakers for potentially interfering with federal immigration efforts, said during a press conference with reporters. O'Connell did add the move was not 'intentional,' but then quickly followed up that he wouldn't have described what happened as 'doxing' in the first place. 'It's not a process that I would characterize as doxing. It was an unintentional release of names that were already part of a public record,' he told reporters. 'They were already part of a public record by being in Department of Emergency Communication's calls, so I don't think it puts them at additional risk. But it's also not an intention of the executive order under which those names are released.' Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell was accused of obstructing federal immigration efforts. WireImage Fox News Digital reached out to O'Connell's office for comment but did not hear back in time for publication. Larry Adams, an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Field Office Director, told local Fox affiliate in Nashville WZTV that ICE agents disagree that making their names public is not a risk, noting their faces can easily be matched to photos on social media. 'It has gotten more and more difficult,' Adams said of his job under the new administration's aggressive deportation tactics, during a ride along with WZTV that occurred last week. 'What affects me the most, is we understand the job we are doing, we understand what we sign up for, it's mostly the attacks or threats against our families.' After Tennessee Republican Congressman Rep. Andy Ogles requested the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigate the Nashville mayor over allegedly obstructing federal officials, the agency followed through and opened an investigation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers gathered at the DHS field office in Nashville on May 4, 2025. REUTERS Meanwhile, two congressional committees are also investigating him, including requesting documents related to O'Connell's Executive Order 30, which has required city departments to report federal immigration communications to the city of Nashville's Office of New Americans. In an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin remarked at the danger associated with doxing federal immigration officers, noting that the act effectively handed cartels intelligence 'on a silver platter.' 'These are the tip of the spear, these are the people on the front lines trying to make our communities safer,' McLaughlin said. 'So, when Democrats and the media show us who they are, we'll believe them, and it's the fact that they're fighting for people like MS-13 and child rapists to be on American streets.' According to local news outlet, the Tennessee Lookout, McLaughlin has also clapped back at O'Connell's claims that the release of immigration officials' names was a mistake. 'They claimed it was a mistake. There's zero chance it was a mistake, and there will be repercussions,' she said, according to the outlet.
3 hours ago
As Musk's 'robotaxi' rollout approaches, Democratic lawmakers in Texas try to throw up a roadblock
NEW YORK -- A group of Democratic lawmakers in Texas is asking Elon Musk to delay the planned rollout of driverless 'robotaxis' in the state this weekend to assure that the vehicles are safe. In a letter, seven state legislators asked Tesla to wait until September when a new law takes effect that will require several checks before autonomous vehicles can be deployed without a human in the driver's seat. Tesla is slated to begin testing a dozen of what it calls robotaxis for paying customers on Sunday in a limited area of Austin, Texas. 'We are formally requesting that Tesla delay autonomous robotaxi operations until the new law takes effect on September 1, 2025,' the letter from Wednesday, June 18, reads. 'We believe this is in the best interest of both public safety and building public trust in Tesla's operations.' It's not clear if the letter will have much impact. Republicans have been a dominant majority in the Texas Legislature for more than 20 years. State lawmakers and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott have generally embraced Musk and the jobs and investment he has brought to Texas, from his SpaceX rocket program on the coast, to his Tesla factory in Austin. The company, which is headquartered in Austin, did not responded immediately to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The law will require companies to secure approval from the state motor vehicles department to operate autonomous cars with passengers. That approval, in turn, would depend on sufficient proof that the cars won't pose a high risk to others if the self-driving system breaks down, among other reassurances. Companies would also have to file detailed plans for how first responders should handle the cars if there is a problem, such as an accident. The letter asked Tesla to assure the legislators it has met all the requirements of the law even if it decides to go ahead with the test run this weekend. The letter was earlier reported by Reuters. Musk has made the robotaxi program a priority at Tesla and a failure would likely be highly damaging to the company's stock, which has already tumbled 20% this year. Musk's political views and his affiliation with the Trump administration have drastically reduced sales of Tesla, particularly in Europe, where Musk's endorsement of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party in February's election drew broad condemnation. Tesla shares bottomed out in March and have rebounded somewhat in recent months. Much of the rise reflects optimism that robotaxis will not only be deployed without a hitch, but that the service will quickly expand to other cities and eventually dominate the self-driving cab business. Rival Waymo is already picking up passengers in Austin and several other cities, and recently boasted of surpassing 10 million paid rides. In afternoon trading Friday, Tesla shares were largely unchanged at $320.
