EXPUNGE

From 8-11 .m. on Tuesday the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office will be at Bellflower in Ypsilanti doing free criminal record expungement checks.

New Michigan laws are making it easier for residents who have committed nonviolent crimes to get their records wiped clean.

For thousands of Michiganders, it’s the opportunity for a better life.

The bipartisan Clean Slate Package will automatically expunge some marijuana convictions, minor crimes and nonviolent felonies. Gilchrist joined Whitmer when she signed the Clean Slate package. “We made an estimate that it’s going to cost about $23-25 million to implement the Clean Slate automated expungement system," Gilchrist said. Whitmer on Monday alongside a number of House bills designed to automate the criminal record expungement process and expand eligibility criteria. More: New ‘Clean Slate’ laws to automate criminal record expungement process, expand eligibility criteria in Michigan

Some Michigan residents who have been convicted of a misdemeanor marijuana offense are now eligible to have that conviction set aside. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a series of bills into law on Monday expanding eligibility requirements for criminal record expungement -- including for those with misdemeanor marijuana convictions. Marijuana offenses are eligible for expungement if they would not be considered illegal if committed after December 6, 2018, when recreational marijuana use became legal for adults in the state of Michigan. In 2018, Michigan voted to legalize recreational marijuana by an 11-point margin. More: New ‘Clean Slate’ laws to automate criminal record expungement process, expand eligibility criteria in Michigan

Hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents may be eligible to have their criminal record expunged under new laws, according to the state. How it worksMichigan residents who have committed certain crimes can file an application to have their criminal record expunged. Instead of waiting for automatic expungement, individuals seeking to have a serious misdemeanor or felony conviction set aside can submit an application after five years. Individuals seeking to have more than one felony conviction set aside can submit an application after seven years. Individuals cannot have more than two felony convictions or four misdemeanor convictions set aside during their lifetime.