News & Updates
At Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, staff like Katiana Guerrier are dedicated to empowering community members with compassion, grace, and professionalism—helping them realize a second chance—because every expungement is a step toward a brighter, kinder tomorrow.
Because how we do justice matters.
As summer kicks off, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ) spotlights our three Summer 2024 interns. First up, Yuki Kyu. Yuki brings a unique blend of passion, experience, and creativity to VLJ’s Children’s Representation Program, ReLeSe (Reentry Legal Services) Program, and South Ward Promise Neighborhood Program.
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice is thrilled to spotlight Gavin Pereira as our June 2024 Volunteer of the Month. Gavin, Corporate Counsel at Audible, plays a pivotal role in supporting the company's rapidly evolving content initiatives. As part of the Content Legal team, Gavin’s responsibilities include advising on a variety of content issues, structuring and negotiating acquisition and development agreements, and collaborating with cross-department stakeholders such as creative, business affairs, production, marketing, and PR.
On April 18, 2024, for Financial Institution Pro Bono Day, volunteers from Duane Morris LLP and TD Bank joined Volunteer Lawyers for Justice for an e-filing criminal record expungement clinic. Not only was it a great day to harness the power of pro bono, it was a great day for a client of VLJ’s ReLeSe (Reentry Legal Services) Program who successfully e-filed their expungement petition thanks to volunteers Jennifer Polovetsky and Lynne Evans from Duane Morris and Lisa DeLessio and Peter Pai from TD Bank.
“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.
In the bustling realm of Prudential Financial's Law, Compliance, Business Ethics and External Affairs department, Linda Dennis, an executive assistant with an impressive 27-year tenure, stands out as a beacon of giving back through pro bono and community service. Recognizing the incredible work Linda does ensuring access to justice for people experiencing poverty, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice celebrates and cheerleads her as our December 2023 Volunteer of the Month.
The New Jersey Office of the Public Defender today announced that it filed a class action lawsuit against the New Jersey State Police to require it to stop unlawfully disclosing the criminal records of tens of thousands of individuals in violation of their court-ordered expungements. New Jersey has been on the forefront of expanding opportunities for people to expunge their criminal records, and the courts have ordered the records of thousands of New Jerseyans expunged. Once an expungement is granted, the New Jersey State Police is charged with removing such offenses from background checks. But the State Police’s extreme delays in processing expungement orders and sealing individuals’ criminal records is frustrating the law’s goals of allowing reformed and rehabilitated New Jerseyans to be freed from the collateral consequences of their past lives.
It may seem obvious that if you lost your driving privileges, you would have difficulty traveling to work, taking your kids to school, picking up groceries, or getting to a doctor’s appointment. Depending on public transit, taxis, and Ubers can be both unreliable and costly. But for Black and brown drivers, who are significantly more likely to be stopped, arrested, and convicted than white drivers, a suspended driver’s license can be so much worse than these inconveniences.
“Ashley” is a 42-year-old, Black, single mother who lives in the South Ward, one of the poorest communities in Newark. She failed to appear in municipal court back in 2017 for moving violations that confusingly occurred while she was living in South Carolina. Unaware of these charges and any missed court appearance, Ashley continued to drive, until one day in March 2021, while back home in New Jersey, she was pulled over for failure to wear a seat belt. The traffic stop didn’t just end in a summons and fine. No, instead, Ashely was arrested and her license was revoked. When she lost her license, she was unable to get to work, and she lost her job as a private home health aide.
In fact, 42% of people in New Jersey lose their job after their license is suspended, even when driving is not a responsibility of the job. Without a driver’s license or a job, Ashley had difficulty providing food and housing for her and her child – she even struggled to get her COVID vaccine without a valid ID. With the economic fallout from the health pandemic, removing barriers to employment has never been more important.
Fortunately, Ashley connected with VLJ and received the legal help needed to overcome her suspensions, dismiss the tickets, and get her license fully restored. Unfortunately, there are more clients in Ashley’s position right now who face municipal court suspensions, open bench warrants, and mounting fees and fines that could lead to financial ruin. Legal advocacy has the power to change that outcome into dismissals and vacated fines, and restore not just driving privileges, but also livelihoods.
To learn more about available pro bono opportunities, please visit: https://www.vljnj.org/pro-bono-opportunities
VLJ is pleased to recognize Daniel D’Alessandro as our January Volunteer of the Month. Dan is a partner with McCarter & English, where he is a commercial and securities litigator. January is National Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Month, and given Dan’s extensive volunteerism with VLJ’s NJ Human Trafficking Victims’ Legal Assistance Program, it is very fitting he receive this distinction this month.
