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At MVLS, the legal assistance we provide our clients often means a second chance, be it avoiding wage garnishment, saving the family home, or obtaining custody of a child. In our Workforce Development Project, we are deeply committed to second chances – namely in the form of criminal record expungement. During April, we celebrate Second Chance Month, a nationwide effort to support those returning to their communities after incarceration. This year, MVLS participated in several expungement projects that are well worth celebrating.
Fittingly for Second Chance Month, Governor Wes Moore this week signed into law the Expungement Reform Act of 2025. The Governor’s administration sponsored this piece of legislation, which expands expungement eligibility and overrides an appellate decision that had hindered thousands of Marylanders living with a criminal record.
The new legislation, which will go into effect October 1st, overrides the Abhishek court decision from 2022. The appellate case turned on an interpretation of the phrase “satisfactory completion of sentence,” and whether or not a person who is found in violation of their probation is entitled to an expungement in the future. The court’s decision effectively prohibited anyone who did not satisfy the original terms of their probation – be it through re-offending and getting incarcerated or simply receiving a technical violation for missing an appointment – can never expunge that particular case. Expungement advocates saw this outcome as inconsistent with the existing rules on expungement of convictions, where a person who does re-offend is not permanently barred from expungement, but can earn the opportunity to apply after going a certain number of years without a new conviction.
The Governor’s bill also adds three charges to the list of convictions eligible for expungement. Those are driving without a license, writing a bad check, and using a stolen credit card. These are common low-level offenses that are right in line with the types of charges that have been expungable for years, and previously stood in the way of record clearance since they can block otherwise eligible cases.
MVLS provided input on the Governor’s bill as well as written and verbal testimony during the legislative committee hearings, and we are proud to be part of this important change to Maryland law.
Additionally, MVLS recently partnered with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General to put on an expungement clinic hosted by Open Works. Attorney General Anthony Brown gave remarks on the importance of expungement as a tool for economic development, and volunteered to take a case himself, along with thirty of his colleagues. This clinic provided expungement services for 52 Baltimore city residents. MVLS is thankful to the Attorney General for taking up pro bono and expungement as a key part of the current administration.
If Second Chance Month has you wanting to get involved with MVLS’ expungement work, you can find our recently updated expungement training, which was recently recorded in light of the recent updates to the law. Keep an eye out for volunteer opportunities at future expungement clinics or visit our pro bono portal to see clients waiting to be matched with an attorney.
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