Image is a stock photo and not of the actual client.
“Margaret”* originally came to Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) over 20 years ago seeking help expunging her criminal record, contained on microfiche no less, when she met with a team of lawyers in Newark. At the time, Margaret had two felonies, and this was long before New Jersey passed its expansive expungement laws. After meeting with the team of attorneys, Margaret found out she was ineligible for expungement even though the attorneys described her as “the poster child” for having her record expunged.
Even with Margaret having turned her life around, being in school for a degree in human services, and zealously pursuing a career, sadly, the law would not be of help. The attorneys recommended Margaret pursue clemency from the governor; Margaret completed the clemency petition, collected over 200 signatures, and mailed it to the Governor of New Jersey at the time. Nothing. No word and no clemency.
Fast forward to 2018, Margaret heard about the changes New Jersey was making to its expungement laws, and after a friend encouraged her to reach back out to VLJ, in 2020 Margaret came back, meeting with volunteer attorney Debra Levin who, according to Margaret, "battled for her" and "it was like I hired her, because she went to bat for me and was on top of everything!".
Margaret worked with Debra on her expungement petition, and in July 2021, a judge approved Margaret’s expungement. Even though the New Jersey State Police did not expunge Margaret’s criminal history from their system until September 2022, Debra remained by Margaret’s side until the job was done. As Margaret put it, “Debra was so vigilant.” Indeed, Margaret had this to say about working with Debra and VLJ:
“It was wonderful. Most of my experience was with Debra Levin. She was excellent. She communicated everything to me, any procedure to be done, she copied me on her email. She would call me and explain everything to me in detail. She mentioned possible denials and not to worry. She stayed on top of it; it took a long time, but she sent them [the New Jersey State Police] several letters. She wanted the expungement just as bad as me.”
Now, Margaret is 33 years into her recovery from substance misuse, and on top of her master's degree, she is a certified alcohol and drug counselor. Even more, Margaret is a proud homeowner of over 25 years. Thanks to Margaret’s drive to leave her past in the past, her expungement brought peace of mind and a second chance to live the life she wanted.
That’s the power of pro bono.
*Client's name has been changed to protect and ensure their privacy.