Expungement clinic held today in Salt Lake City in honor of Juneteenth

SALT LAKE CITY — Clean Slate Utah and the NAACP Utah are holding a free Juneteenth expungement clinic on Tuesday.

Expungement is a legal process of removing a criminal record from public records in order for a person to gain their own employment and housing. 

A Juneteenth Expungement Clinic is happening on Tuesday in Salt Lake City from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The clinic is open to everyone.

To those who qualify, it means a fresh start.

That’s why Executive Director Destiny Garcia teamed up with the NAACP Utah and the University of Utah College of Law.

“We want people to walk out of that clinic powered with the knowledge they need to move forward in their life,” said Garcia.

The clinic offers free record screenings and volunteer attorneys to help others find relief and support.

Garcia believes in the work because she herself went through the process and has felt the effects of having a record.

“Before I got my expungement … when I would go out and look for jobs, or even apartments, I would get denied over and over again. I couldn’t get a job anywhere,” said Garcia.

Garcia said that before expungement, a person has to rely on government benefits. 

Garcia reached out to the NAACP Utah, Pro bono Initiative and volunteer attorneys to hold their Juneteenth Expungement Clinic at the Law and Justice Center in Salt Lake City.

“What we hear the most [when] people come in is ‘I didn’t know I could get this cleared,” said Garcia. 

Related:

• Cox calls special legislative session on Juneteenth
• Expungement fees are now four times more expensive
• New web app helping Utahns expunge criminal records