Attorney General Hosts Expungement Clinic in Alpena
Outside the Bay View Center in Alpena on Friday, over 100 people lined up to receive assistance from attorneys in order to clear past misdemeanors and even felonies.
These convictions can sometimes follow a person for the rest of their lives which could have an impact on future jobs and careers. “Lots of people make a mistake at some point in their life,” said Dana Nessel, Michigan attorney general. “Then they stop committing crimes and they want to get on the straight and narrow and all they want to do is support their families.”
Some, including Merl Faucett, hoped to clear charges that are decades old. “Back in ’88 I was stopped and subsequently charged for possession of marijuana and I’m trying to get that off my record today,” Faucett said. 
Alpena County Sheriff Erik Smith believes the clinic will have a positive impact on the community. “Having them expunged from the record is good for our community, because they’ve already given their debt to society and they need to get a clean slate and get their life back for lack of better words,” he said.
Friday’s clinic wasn’t the only opportunity for past criminals to clear their records. Heading to the Department of the Attorney General website guides them through the steps. “We’ve tried to make it as user friendly as possible,” Nessel said. “So, if you go on our website, the Department of the Attorney General, you can walk through the process. It has all the forms you need. You can download them and it has exactly what you need to do.”
The state is currently dealing with a backlog of people trying to get their records expunged, so the wait may be longer for some people. However the AG’s office is expected to have it cleared within a month as they install a new computer system which will be ready to go by September 7. “For people who are sort of frustrated, they’ve tried to go through this process, and now they’re just waiting to get their paperwork back, please know, we are aware of those issues at the state,” said Nessel. “We have been working tenaciously to fix those issues and we’re hoping to have all of the backlog cleared up within a few months.”
In September, the attorney general also plans to have a drivers license fair.
