District Attorney Warren Montgomery will launch his new Fresh Start Program on Saturday, November 18, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Justice Center in downtown Covington. The program is designed to give individuals the opportunity to clear a past arrest or conviction in St. Tammany or Washington Parishes from their criminal records, if they qualify under state law for a process called Expungement.
Many who may qualify have been discouraged from applying to get their records expunged because of the costs ($550 in fees alone) and because the process can be long and difficult without the help of an attorney, which would add thousands of dollars to the actual cost.
The Fresh Start Program offers a one-day event, where up to 100 pre-qualified participants can walk away with their records expunged for a significantly reduced fee of $100 per person. D.A. Montgomery has brought together all of the required agencies to reduce the costs and shorten the expungement process to a single day. The program’s goal is to help citizens who have lost job opportunities and other privileges because of their past mistakes move into a brighter future.
Not all cases qualify. Generally, violent crimes and sexual crimes cannot be expunged.
Participants in the Nov. 18th event must be pre-qualified prior to the event. To find out how to qualify, see the full article online at covingtonweekly.com or visit the page of District Attorney Warren Montgomery.
District Attorney Montgomery is grateful for the support of the program’s co-sponsors:
St. Tammany Parish Clerk Melissa Henry
St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith
Washington Parish Clerk Of Court Johnny Crain
Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal.
Mr. Montgomery also offers a special thanks to his Community Partners, who assisted in the planning and intake for the event:
Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana
Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
Louisiana United International and the East St. Tammany NAACP
New Orleans Paralegal Association
Northshore Community Foundation
