PCC Legal Resource Center (NE Portland)
The PCC Legal Resource Center offers criminal expungement (think erasing your record) regardless of one’s income level. The center also offers help reducing how much money people owe to the courts (court costs, fines, & fees).
See PCC CLEAR Clinic hours & locations to learn about eligibility. Even a civil contempt of court dismissed with prejudice (“with prejudice” means no one can bring the same charge or claim based on the same events back to court) can appear on your “criminal” record. You may be surprised.
Services are free, but $33 is requested for expungement costs.
RecordSponge (various places across Oregon)
What’s below comes from RecordSponge’s site, simplified.
Consequences of a Criminal Record: A criminal record (arrest or conviction) can make life difficult.
It can affect your ability to
– Get a job
– Attend school
– Find a place to rent or buy
– Access necessary resources and support
Oregon offers a process called *expungement* that allows people to erase parts of their criminal record. Expungement helps individuals get a fresh start by removing certain barriers caused by their criminal record.
Complications of the Expungement Process:
The rules for expungement can be complex and difficult to navigate.
– You must determine which parts of your record can be erased.
– It’s easy to make mistakes.
It’s costly if a lawyer does it for you—costing $1,000-$3,000.
RecordSponge simplifies this process. It uses a computer program to check a person’s record, making it cheaper & quicker for people to see if they can get an expungement.
Experience Note: I attended a training at PCC Clear on expungement. As part of this, I shadowed one of their lawyers and had the chance to do the work while shadowed. The people there seemed caring, hard-working, & non-judgmental.
For free expungement (aka expunction) of juvenile records. You will find an English and Spanish version of a statewide expunction application form by clicking on the link above.
Click on the link above for Oregon Justice Resource Center’s page on these petitions for reconsideration of convictions, sentences or both.
The Oregon Judicial Dept has a page on expungements for adults & juveniles.
For Multnomah Co. Fines & Fees Forgiveness Lottery, Multnomah Project Reset.
Must be 80% below the Area Median Income for Portland to enter the lottery. For 2024, this means below $60,080 for a single person. You can find 2024 Median Income Levels for Portland, Vancouver and Hillsboro here.
Oregon Judicial Department’s Self-Help Criminal Law Forms and More
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