Many New Yorkers with criminal records, largely Black and Latinx communities, are victims of discrimination and systemic inequity.  Additionally, carrying a record is a debilitating barrier to employment, housing, and accessing government benefits. For nearly four years, New Yorkers have had the opportunity to seal their records under certain circumstances, thanks to legislation passed in 2017.

Launched in 2017, Legal Aid’s Case Closed Project educates the public on complicated record sealing eligibility and assists clients with sealing applications. Case Closed also fights for broad change in the criminal legal system, including reforms like 2021’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, which has contributed to the expungement of more than 700,000 records in New York over the past four years.

With marijuana legalization passing in states across the country, new funding for projects like Case Closed is available as these laws typically require the cannabis industry to reinvest in communities impacted by the War on Drugs. Companies like Cresco Labs, an industry-leading multistate cannabis company, reinvests in communities through its Social Equity & Education Development (SEED) initiative focused on supporting restorative justice, community business incubation, education, and workforce development in the cannabis industry. Legal Aid’s Case Closed received restorative justice-focused financial support from SEED in 2021 for record sealing and public outreach.

“We cannot stand idly by while cannabis legalization continues, knowing there is a severe lack of socio-economic opportunity within the cannabis industry for historically marginalized communities,” said Chima Enyia, Executive Vice President of SEED at Cresco Labs. “We are firmly committed to investing both time and resources to uplift the people in our communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs through our ongoing social equity, restorative justice, education, and entrepreneurship initiatives.” 

Case Closed Staff Attorney Emma Goldman said, “Legal reforms are only as good as the community education and legal support that follows them. With SEED’s support, we have been able to educate thousands of people about their sealing and expungement rights.”

Now, Case Closed’s most pressing fight is The Clean Slate Act, which could restore justice to 2.3 million people who have served their sentences but are perpetually punished with the personal and institutional discrimination that comes with carrying a criminal record. Through automatic record expungement, Clean Slate could clear access to housing, education, benefits, and employment for the 1 in 7 New Yorkers with a conviction history, ending structural inequity and stigmatization facing people with criminal records. 

Learn how you can take a stand for social and racial equity by supporting Clean Slate NY.