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Volume45,Number33 WINSTON-SALEM,N.C. THURSDAY,April25,2019
The Twin City Fashion Week was in full swing April 18-20 at the Millennium Center. The creative works of four emerging designers were on display Friday, April 19. Models
worked the runway as they showed off fashions designed by Cassidy Burel, Sarah Woods, April Whiting and Jatice Williams. Twin City Fashion Week drew a large crowd despite
the threat of severe weather.
Expungement clinic gives hundreds a clean slate
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
It is no secret that hav
ing a criminal record can
have a negative impact on
one’s ability to become a
productive citizen. That’s
why last week several
elected officials partnered
with the Wake Forest Law
Pro Bono Project and lo
cal attorneys to host an
expungement clinic at the
Forsyth County Hall of
Justice.
Led by Forsyth County
Clerk of Superior Court,
the Honorable Susan
Frye, and City Council
man James Taylor, the ex
pungement clinic, which
was free of charge, was
designed to give residents
in Forsyth County a clean
record and some added
confidence when they’re
filling out that job applica
tion, applying for housing,
or even
post-secondary
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education. The sheriff and
clerk’s offices stayed late
to make it all happen.
According to the Na
tional Reentry Resource
Center, 87 percent of em
ployers conduct criminal
background checks for
some or all job applicants
and the existence of a
criminal record reduces
job callback by 50 percent
on average.
In December 2017
North Carolina made ma
jor changes to the law cov
ering expungements. The
biggest changes reduced
the waiting period to ex
punge a non-violent mis
demeanor from 15 years to
5 years and nonviolent fel
onies from 15 years to 10.
The fairly new legislation
also eliminates the num
ber of expungements one
is entitled to if charges are
dismissed, or one is found
“not guilty.” Under the
old law, only one expunge
ment was allowed.
It is estimated that up
to 2 million residents in
North Carolina will benefit
from the change in the ex
pungement law.
On the day of the clinic
here in Forsyth County, lo
cal judges, attorneys, and
A local resident completes paperwork to get an old conviction removed from his record.
Submitted photo
local law students helped
hundreds of residents com
plete and file paperwork
with the clerk, who will
complete the expungement
process.. When discuss ¬
ing the clinic, Taylor, who
is also publisher of The
Chronicle, said oftentimes
poverty and crime go hand
See Clinic on A2
www.wschronicle.com
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