An Athens-Clarke County Arrest Record Restriction Event will take place at the Goodwill Thrift Store & Donation Center at 4070 Lexington Road, Athens, GA 30605 on Saturday, April 4, 2020 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 by March 22.

Pre-registration for the Record Restriction Event is required. Registration is available online through www.accgov.com/recordrestriction or through paper forms available at:

Wilson’s Styling Shop, 343 N. Hull St., Athens, GA 30601

Jet Cuts, 400 Hawthorne Ave., Athens, GA 30606

Sheats Barber & Beauty Shop, 1296 W. Hancock St., Athens, GA 30606

Paper forms must be returned to the Solicitor-General’s Office in the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse, 325 East Washington Street, Suite 550, Athens, GA 30601 by Friday, March 20.

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 pre-register 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 Athens-Clarke County Police Department, the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia Justice Project, the Georgia Clients Council, and Goodwill of North Georgia.

Also on site on the same day will be a free Job Fair (9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.) and a free Access to Justice Initiative Pop-Up Legal Clinic (9:00-11:00 a.m.). Neither requires registration and both are open to the public.