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Community Legal Services urges eligible residents to seek sealing and expungement help
Summary
Community Legal Services summarized its pro bono and low-cost civil legal services, highlighted sealing and expungement clinics, and said clinics help low-income clients navigate a complex process with limited opportunities to apply.
Representatives from Community Legal Services briefed the commission on Jan. 7 about free and low-cost civil legal services available to residents across a 12-county service area, including sealing and expungement clinics.
"At Community Legal Services, our mission is really, really clear, to provide no cost or low cost legal services to the most vulnerable in Central Florida," said Courtney Jones, managing attorney of pro bono services. Jones described the organization's 2023 results: 225 advice clinics that connected 540 clients with volunteer attorneys; 260 pro bono attorneys providing over 3,000 service hours; assistance on nearly 15,000 legal matters for more than 9,000 clients; and legal help for over 6,000 survivors of domestic violence.
Stephanie (last name not specified), a Community Legal Services attorney based in the DeLand office, explained that sealing and expungement can make records less visible to the general public but that eligibility is limited. "It is very difficult to qualify for this process," she said, and cautioned that applicants should get legal advice because there is typically only one chance to pursue relief.
The commission received the informational presentation; no formal action or city-funded program changes were recorded. Community Legal Services asked residents who may qualify to contact the organization for intake and assistance.
