The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cobb County sets records expungement event
It will aid those arrested but not convicted of crime in Cobb.
‘If an arrest does not result in a conviction, but the arrestee continues to suffer unfair consequences because of the arrest, that is an injustice.’
Joyette Holmes
Cobb district attorney
The Cobb County District Attorney and Solicitor General offices will host a records restriction and job expo event in February.
The records-restriction initiative, which will be held in coordination with the Georgia Justice Project, will help people who have been arrested but not convicted of a crime in Cobb County. When
arrest records are “restricted,” they are sealed and no longer searchable by prospective employers or anyone else.
The District Attorney’s Office said public records of an arrest “can hinder people from obtaining employment, housing, or other resources and thereby being a productive member of the community.”
“A bedrock principle of this nation is justice for all,” District Attorney Joyette Holmes said. “If an arrest does not result in a conviction, but the arrestee continues to suffer unfair consequences because of the arrest, that is an injustice. It’s a harm to the individual and his or her family, clearly.
But it also costs the community, in terms of that individual’s contribution.”
The event, as part of Project Restore 360, will be 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29, at Riverside Epicenter at 135 Riverside Parkway in Austell.
Holmes added that criminal convictions generally cannot be restricted or sealed. Under state law, the step is available to only some people who have been con
victed of a crime. Record sealing does not apply to anyone who pleaded guilty to a crime such as armed robbery, for example.
Applicants can petition for records restriction if they were arrested but not convicted of a crime, if they have youthful offender convictions in certain cases or if they were charged with a felony but convicted of an unrelated misdemeanor.
“In general, we are talking about arrests that were later dismissed or cases in which the offender completed an accountability court program or conditional discharge,” she added. “The Georgia Legislature makes the rules, and we follow them.”
Solicitor General Barry Morgan added the efforts to restrict one’s records can be a time-consuming process that many people don’t understand.
“We are sincerely trying to streamline this process and help people get on with their lives,” said Morgan, whose office prose
cutes only misdemeanor crimes. “And with the job expo, we’re taking a 360-degree approach to a 360-degree problem.”
The job expo portion of the event is being coordinated by
Michael Murphy, Cobb County Commission Chairman Mike Boyce’s assistant for special projects.
Anyone who would like to apply for the records restriction event is required to register by Jan. 31 by visiting cobbrestore360.org or filling out a paper application available at all Cobb public libraries.
The service is limited to the first 250 applicants, who must present a valid Georgia or U.S. ID. For more information, contact 770528-1349 or email 360RecordRestriction@cobbcounty.org.