Cobb County to host records expungement, job expo in Austell

A records restriction and job expo event will be held Feb. 29, 2020, at Riverside Epicenter in Cobb County.

Credit: Pixabay

Credit: Pixabay

A records restriction and job expo event will be held Feb. 29, 2020, at Riverside Epicenter in Cobb County.

The Cobb County District Attorney and Solicitor General offices will host a records restriction and job expo event in February.

The event, as part of Project Restore 360, will be held 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, at Riverside Epicenter at 135 Riverside Parkway in Austell.

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. These individuals have the right to have their arrest records restricted and any related court documents sealed.

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.”

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“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.”

Holmes added that criminal convictions generally cannot be restricted or sealed. Record sealing does not apply to anyone who pleaded guilty to a crime such as armed robbery, for example.

“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.”

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Solicitor General Barry Morgan added the efforts to restrict one’s records can be a time-consuming process that many people don’t understand. Morgan’s office prosecutes misdemeanor crimes.

“We are sincerely trying to streamline this process and help people get on with their lives,”he said. “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 records restriction event is required to register by Jan. 31, 2020, by visiting the Cobb Restore 360 website or filling out a paper application that's 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 770-528-1349 or email 360RecordRestriction@cobbcounty.org.

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