You can access your criminal record at the Justice Center at 1300 Ontario St., which has free computers to look up misdemeanors and felonies. The county also has a link from its website www.cuyahogacounty.us/home/legal.asp where you may search for only felony records. Click on "Criminal Docket" and search by case number or name.You can also look at the county website from any computer with an internet connection. This includes computers at the local public library. Ask the librarian for assistance. If you are convicted of a crime, it’s very important to know what the crime was, what court you were in, and the case number.

Expungement is a legal process that allows you to clear a conviction from your criminal record. Some crimes, including murder, rape, vehicular homicide, and armed crimes, can never be expunged. Once a conviction is successfully expunged, you do not have to disclose that information when applying for employment or housing. Qualifications for expungement are rather strict; to be eligible for expungement, you must be a first time offender, have no pending criminal charges at the time of request, have been rehabilitated, and allowed a certain amount of time to pass between conviction and requesting expungement. That time period is one year for misdemeanors and three years off probation, parole, or straight release for felonies. The first step towards expungement is to file a Motion for Expungement in the court you were convicted in and pay the filing fee. If you are a low-income person, you may file a poverty affidavit instead. For assistance in filling an expungement application, contact the Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Program, 216-635-0768. CHLAP can also help you get your records or refer you to the Public Defender for assistance. The Public Defender has a session every Thursday from 1-4 to help with completing the application.

If you were arrested and the charges were dismissed or you were found not guilty, you can ask the court to seal the arrest record. This does not count against your ability to file for an expungement. Contact the Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Program for help.

Clerk of Courts: Criminal 216/443-7999, Civil 216/443-7950

Public Defender: 216/443-7223

Municipal Clerk of Courts (for misdemeanors): 216/664-4790

Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Program: 216/635-0768 (voice),

216/635-0774 (fax)

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