An Athens-Clarke County Arrest Record Restriction Event and Job Fair will take place at the Goodwill Store and Career Center at 4070 Lexington Road, Athens, GA 30605 on Saturday, April 6, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. The record restriction event is free of charge for up to 100 individuals who pre-register online by March 18 through www.accgov.com/recordrestriction, while the job fair is open to the public.

The purpose of the event is to assist individuals who were arrested in Athens-Clarke County with restricting eligible misdemeanor offenses from their criminal history and to educate individuals about other options for records restriction and about which charges are not eligible for restriction. For specific cases, individuals may be eligible to restrict their criminal record from public view. Restricting criminal arrest records for non-criminal justice purposes may help individuals get a job or housing and a clean start.

Eligibility requirements:

• Arrest in Athens-Clarke County by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, Sheriff’s Office, or UGA Police

• Misdemeanors only

• No pending charges

• Charges did not result in a conviction (dismissed, found not guilty of all charges at trial, or successfully completed pretrial diversion/first offender program)

• Retroactive first offender and youthful offender (under 21) screening available

• Must register online and bring a valid Georgia or U.S. photo ID to the event.

As part of the event, the normal $75 fee associated with the restriction of every arrest will be waived by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, Clarke County Sheriff’s Office, University of Georgia Police Department, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for participants in the record restriction event. 

Representatives from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, Clarke County Sheriff's Office, Solicitor-General’s Office, UGA School of Law, Georgia Justice Project, and Western Circuit Public Defender’s Office, as well as judges from State Court and Municipal Court are expected to be present at the event to provide additional legal counseling for participants.

The event is hosted by Athens-Clarke County Solicitor-General C.R. Chisholm with assistance from Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court Judge Ryan Hope, the Georgia Justice Project, and Goodwill of North Georgia.