The Clean Slate Expungement Project was an early Civic Tech DC initiative designed to help individuals navigate the complex legal landscape of record expungement following marijuana decriminalization and legalization in the District. This tool provided users with a preliminary evaluation of their eligibility to have past records sealed or expunged, offering a first step toward a clean slate.
As part of the effort to address the lingering effects of criminal records from past marijuana-related offenses, Clean Slate was built to help individuals understand whether they qualified for expungement under evolving laws. Initiated at a local hackathon and later brought to Code for DC, the project emerged from a collaboration with Students In Court DC (now Rising for Justice), which had expertise in expungement requirements. This partnership helped transform the paper-based process into an accessible digital tool.
The Clean Slate app functioned as a triage tool, developed using JavaScript and React, that guided users through a series of questions to determine their eligibility. Based on users’ responses, the app would provide an initial determination—whether they were currently eligible, might be eligible after a certain period, or did not meet eligibility criteria. However, the app was not a replacement for legal counsel; it was a starting point. Lawyers would manually review each case to ensure accuracy and compliance.
The project operated as a stopgap solution, adapting to changes in expungement law from 2014 to 2017. While it offered valuable support during its active years, changes in legislation and the need for more comprehensive tools led to its transition to another nonprofit organization, Mission Launch, for further development. The project’s success was due to consistent stakeholder involvement, local support, and its ability to address a timely legal challenge in a straightforward, tech-enabled way.
Today, while the Clean Slate Expungement Project is no longer active at Civic Tech DC, it remains an example of how civic technology can respond quickly to policy changes, offering critical resources to the community.