Please note - this purchase is for a digital download of the Learn
Online Materials, including online viewing / download of the video
presentation.
Description:
The Boston Bar Association is thrilled to announce the launch of a monthly
CORI Sealing Clinic, a first-of-its kind project that will assist low-income
clients in asking courts to seal their criminal records with the help of
volunteer attorneys.
A CORI (short for Criminal Offender Record
Information) report is the official log of any charges brought against someone
by the Commonwealth. The CORI Act attempts to balance the public interest in
having access to criminal records against the interest of personal privacy.
Because a prior criminal record can be used by employers and landlords to
deprive deserving people of employment, housing, and educational opportunities,
Massachusetts law permits those individuals to have their records “sealed” from
public view by meeting certain legal requirements. The CORI Sealing Clinic will
help those who lack the knowledge or expertise to undertake this process or
cannot afford an attorney to help.
This clinic, to be held at the Edward
W. Brooke Courthouse in Boston, will assist low-income clients with retrieving
copies of their CORI reports and administratively sealing their CORI when
eligible. The clinic will begin on the morning of Wednesday, February 6th and
will continue throughout 2019 on the first Wednesday of each month.
This training will introduce attorney volunteers to CORI laws and will
provide the background and knowledge necessary to volunteer at the clinic.
Attendees will learn about:
• Changes in the law related to comprehensive criminal justice
reform
• What is CORI and the various levels of access to
CORI
• What are the new waiting periods to seal records
• How
to seal criminal and juvenile records through the administrative
process
• How to seal criminal records in court
• How
expungement differs from sealing
• How to use the new law to expunge
juvenile and adult records
• New FBI provisions in the law related to
CORI
• Volunteer opportunities to staff a monthly information table at
Boston Municipal Court
If you’re interested in attending this training and volunteering at the
clinic, please email Cassandra Shavney at cshavney@bostonbar.org
Speakers:
Ventura Dennis,
Greater Boston Legal Services
Sarah Melise Joss, Office of the
Commissioner of Probation
Agapi Koulouris, Department of Criminal
Justice Information Services
Pauline Quirion, Greater Boston Legal
Services
David Marc Siegel, New England Law
Boston