Hamilton County Municipal Court judges have approved a plan to increase public awareness about expungement.

        They have also discussed three other programs aimed at decreasing the amount of contact some people have with the criminal justice system or clearing backlogs of minor cases.

        Led by Judge Nadine Allen, the judges' proposals have yet to be finalized. They will meet June 12 to set possible start dates.

        The judges hope to let residents know expungement is available and all they have to do is ask about it. If they can't afford the $50 fee, it could be waived.

        Expungements are mainly granted, however, to first-time offenders and to those who do not have serious drug- or violence-related convictions.

        Judge Allen stopped short of saying that the proposals were in response to some social activists' demands for amnesty for those arrested during the 2001 civil unrest.

        “Now is simply a good time to expedite these proposals,” she said. “A light has been shone on the entire criminal justice system in Cincinnati. As an individual, a lawyer and a judge it only seems appropriate that we do something.”

        She said her interest was more in response to a 1997 report by the Ohio Supreme Court that gauged racial fairness in the criminal justice system.

        The report determined that there are issues of racial disparity in the system, in particular minorities' perception that the system is skewed against them.

        Also discussed:

        • A program to dismiss a first-time offense of driving with a suspended license if the driver meets certain qualifications.

        Called LIP-Diversion, eligible participants must be accident-free and have no record of driving under the influence charges.

        • A program that would purge certain minor and low-level misdemeanor warrants, 10 years old or older, from the criminal justice system. These warrants would include petty crimes such as an open flask charge or a traffic citation. “We have thousands of open flask warrants,” Judge Allen said, adding that there are more than 100,000 traffic and criminal warrants that could be deleted.

        • A program called “Operation Clean Slate.” Still in a discussion phase, this program has been done twice, in 1993 and 1994.

        At that time, the program was mostly aimed at traffic violators. People were allowed to turn themselves in and were released after paying the initial fines they owed.

        According to Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Jim Cissell, his office collected $192,026 in fees and cleared 5,792 delinquent cases in those efforts.

        The judge added that none of these programs will be implemented without the approval of city and county prosecutors, the mayor and the police department.

        Nevertheless, Judge Allen does not anticipate opposition, adding, “This is a win-win situation.”

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