With support from local attorneys, the California State University, Bakersfield Pre-Law Program will host a first-of-its-kind Pop-Up Expungement Clinic intended to give eligible participants with misdemeanors or felonies on their record the opportunity for a fresh start.
The clinic will take place from 1-5 p.m. on Feb. 24 at the Kern County Board of Supervisor’s Office, located at 1115 Truxtun Ave. Services are free, but space is limited. Dr. Jeanine Kraybill — associate professor of political science and director of the Pre-Law Program — noted there are eligibility requirements, including the client’s successful completion of the terms of probation.
“When people who are eligible for expungement get the charge taken off their record, it helps with employment, housing and a series of other issues,” she said. “It really helps them to move along into society and put these issues behind them.”
CSUB students will work alongside several local attorneys, who are offering their services free of charge. When the clients arrive at the clinic, students will hand them an intake form, which they will fill out and give to the attorney assigned to assist them.
The attorney will help complete the expungement paperwork and file it with the court. The client will then wait to be notified of next steps in the case.
The pop-up clinic fills a critical need in Kern County, “a legal desert, which means we have more people who need legal services than people to help them,” Dr. Kraybill said. “With the socio-economic stratification of our community, we have so many people who can’t afford to navigate the complex legal system.”
Dr. Kraybill and her fellow organizers are looking for additional attorneys to volunteer at the clinic. Interested volunteers should contact Dr. Kraybill.
The professor noted that students will not be offering legal advice at the clinic, but that the opportunity is invaluable, affording them “the hands-on experience they need to help discern a vocation in the law.”
“It also helps our students get a softer landing when they go to law school,” she said. “They’re comfortable speaking the vernacular, networking, learning the legal processes and are gaining the confidence to see themselves in the legal field.”
The Pop-Up Expungement Clinic is part of CSUB’s Legal Information and Support Clinic, only the second program of its kind in the entire 23-campus California State University system.
“Our students are working with attorneys in the field, providing no-cost services to people in need,” Dr. Kraybill said. “We’re trying to build a diverse pipeline to the law in Kern County. And when our students do go to law school, we want them to consider coming back to practice law right here.”
For more information, email Dr. Kraybill at jkraybill@csub.edu.
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