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Justice reform advocates praise Kentucky Supreme Court expungement decision

The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled low income Kentuckians can waive fees to have old convictions cleared from their records.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A legal process that could give Kentuckians a blank slate to restart their lives is now free and advocates want to get the word out.

The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled low income Kentuckians can waive fees to have old convictions cleared from their records. 

“The basic principle is we can't charge people who can't afford it to exercise their basic rights,” Louisville attorney Michael Abate said. He’s a partner at Kaplan, Johnson, Abate & Bird law firm.

Abate said he was happy to argue the case.

The high court's ruling stems from a 2018 circuit court decision in which Frederick Jones was denied the right to waive his expungement fees Abate says Jones was low-income and should have been able to apply to waive expungement fees under the same law that allows people to apply for waivers in other cases, like divorce.

"To get that ruling was wonderful because it's not just going to affect Mr. Jones, but so many people across the Commonwealth,” Abate said.

It'll also help organizations like the Louisville Urban League, which has a program that helps people pay for expungements.

"We are so excited about this ruling because it was save us hundreds of thousands of dollars in trying to help community members, League President Sadiqa Reynolds said. “That limited us in how many people we could really represent."

RELATED: A blank slate: How expunging past convictions help give new life to Kentuckians

Reynolds said it's disheartening that lower courts denied Kentuckians the same right that's extended to low-income people in other cases.

"I don't even want to call this a progressive ruling,” Reynolds said. “It's really fair and it's about everybody having access to all parts of the law."

Reynolds and Abate say now thousands of Kentuckians can breathe easier knowing there's a new path to better employment, regaining access to vote and more.

According to a 2021 study from the Justice in Government Project, about one in three U.S. adults have a criminal record, and that group has an unemployment rate of 27%.

► Contact reporter Bobbi McSwine at BMcSwine@whas11.com or on Facebook or Twitter.

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