LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Thousands of Nevadans are still eligible to have their minor criminal records sealed and possibly don’t know it, which could help lift hurdles to get jobs, housing or loans.
In late 2022, Clark County provided $1 million in marijuana tax funds for legal clinics to help local residents. Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and Nevada Legal Services provided added support for the tedious task of working one-on-one with clients to seal their records.
Legal Aid Center consulted with more than 1,800 people with lower incomes who asked for help, and has helped seal more than 400 records so far. Each sealing takes several months and requires dozens of steps.
“One in three Americans has a criminal record. If there are 2.3 million people in Clark County, that’s hundreds of thousands,” said Jason Fisher, record sealing attorney for Legal Aid Center’s Consumer Rights Project.
“Every day, Nevadans with what most would consider minor criminal histories are denied even entry-level jobs paying minimum wage. The worst is that, many times, these denials come even when the state itself has dismissed the charges and they were never even convicted of a crime,” Fisher said.
“It’s literally the difference between being able to get a job and pay rent, take care of your kids and having to either be homeless or apply for government housing or go on welfare,” he said.
Those who are not eligible include people with sex offenses and felony DUIs.
LaShonda Bussie is one of the Las Vegas locals who has been helped with the life-changing record sealing and a clean slate. More than a decade ago, she was caught in a cycle of addiction. “Drug courts saved my life. That’s really where the life changing efforts started,” Bussie said. After working through sober living, she graduated from college and worked in behavioral health to help others through addiction– but her infraction held her back from jobs and even housing.
“I have years of experience, I have formal education. I have lots of certification, and lots of lived experience. Because I have to check that box, ’Yes, I had a criminal record,’ I was oftentimes disqualified for jobs that I was more than apt to handle. So it was extremely difficult,” she said.
Bussie found help through Legal Aid Center, and after working through the process, got her records sealed. “It has changed my life in so many ways. It has obviously has helped to boost my career,” she said, Bussie founded her own behavioral health agency, serves as director of advancement for Clean Shot Living, is also set to launch a low-income child care center in the fall.
“I get to be a living example,” she said.
For more resources on record sealing, click on the links below:
Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada record sealing aid
Nevada Legal Services record sealing aid
UNLV Boyd School of Law record sealing aid
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