Texas Law Expunction Project – Work Session (Petition Drafting)

Students will use court records and information provided at expunction intake clinics to draft petitions and orders for expunction or nondisclosure of criminal records. Students will conduct additional research on county records as needed.

Organization

Mithoff Pro Bono Program

The Expunction Project is an internal project of the Richard and Ginni Mithoff Pro Bono Program. Expunging records allows people to legally deny offenses and erases records from criminal histories, mitigating future harm stemming from arrests that do not result in a criminal conviction. Orders of nondisclosure direct police departments and other agencies not to disclose criminal records on background checks, and allow a person to not disclose offenses on applications for housing or employment.

Project Details

Project Date

Thursday, February 11

Project Time
6pm-8:30pm
Approximate hours of work requested
3-4 hours, including training, work session, and completing petition-drafting
Training
Volunteers will be trained in the first 30 minutes of the work session; the formal part of the clinic will end by 8:30pm but volunteers will be expected to finish drafting petitions for attorney review by 10pm
Skills used
Document preparation/review; legal writing and research; legal records review; government communication and records collection
Project location
Virtual
Number of student volunteers requested
20
Class year preference
1L, 2L, 3L, LLM
Required skills
Students with an interest in social justice, navigating the criminal justice system, and engaging with client records are encouraged to volunteer
To Apply
Register at https://expworksp21.eventbrite.com