Back

When Rosie Martin* was arrested, she feared it would upend her decades-long career and the accounting job she had just landed with a nonprofit.

Ms. Martin, 62, hadn’t actually committed any crime, and prosecutors declined to charge her. Still, she spent a stressful night in jail before being released the following morning.

“I was angry and hurt. It was very emotional and humiliating being handcuffed, booked, and going to jail,” Ms. Martin said.

Recent data from D.C. shows that some 40 percent of people who are arrested are not charged with a crime, commonly known as “no papering.” Even without being charged, Ms. Martin knew that her arrest would still come up in a background check.  

And despite D.C.’s “ban the box” policy, a criminal record still creates barriers to employment — especially in a career track like Ms. Martin's, which has included roles in finance, grants, and accounting for government agencies and contractors.

“It was vitally important that I keep my job. I could not have an arrest on my record,” she said. “I was worried that I would become unemployable and that if my fingerprints showed up anywhere, it would automatically disqualify me.”

Connecting with Pro Bono Help

Ms. Martin knew that she had to look into her legal options for putting the arrest behind her, and after doing some research, she contacted Legal Aid DC.

Clients typically have to wait at least two years to have a record sealed, even if, like Ms. Martin, they were never actually convicted of a crime. After learning more about Ms. Martin’s situation, Legal Aid staff realized that she may be an exception.

"In D.C., you can have a criminal record sealed based on your ‘actual innocence,’ but it’s difficult. The burden is on the petitioner to prove that they didn’t commit a crime, and that’s a high bar to meet,” said Nadia Seeratan, Legal Aid DC Director of Reentry and Community Lawyering. “But with her situation, Ms. Martin had a strong case to pursue that route, which would allow her record to be sealed much more quickly.”  

With support from pro bono attorneys, Legal Aid has been able to expand its record sealing services to help more clients. In 2023, Legal Aid placed 10 record sealing cases with pro bono attorneys, and another 25 between January and August of 2024. Attorneys Nancy Stephen, Leon Greenfield, and Kanzanira Thorington at WilmerHale were eager to get involved in record sealing work and agreed to take on Ms. Martin’s case.

“I was very interested in the facts surrounding her case and empathized with her on the effect the arrest record would have on her ability to stay employed, if not sealed,” said Nancy, an associate at WilmerHale.  

Ms. Martin said she immediately felt the support from her WilmerHale attorneys.

“I had faith and trust in them from the beginning because of their professionalism,” she said. “I had no idea I was going to have the dream team.”  

Legal Aid staff had already helped Ms. Martin gather the records she needed from the police department and the court about her arrest. Nancy and her team got to work to build the strongest possible argument for her record to be sealed.

“We had several rounds of calls with her to understand the facts concerning her situation and to make sure she qualified for a motion to seal on the grounds of innocence,” Nancy said. “We also had additional conversations with witnesses and took their written testimonies to be filed along with our motion.”

Ms. Martin said the attorneys kept her updated every step of the way.  

“From the time I called until the time my record was sealed, I was treated with dignity, I was treated with respect,” she said. “Knowing that this was taken care of and that there were people working on my behalf, it was a great feeling.”

Ultimately, Ms. Martin’s motion was granted, and her record was sealed without her ever having to appear in court. She said it’s been a relief to be able to put a difficult and emotional situation behind her, and she’s glad that she didn’t wait to reach out for support.

“Life happens and we have no control over it, but that should not bar someone from seeking help,” she said. “It's really hard for people to ask for help, but they should know that Legal Aid will make it very easy. I am just so thankful for the dream team that I got.”

*A pseudonym has been used in this story to protect the client’s privacy  

Share this story on social media