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Clean Slate

A past legal-access project that helped DC residents explore whether marijuana-related records might qualify for sealing or expungement.

Content owner: Civic Tech DC project archive. Last reviewed: July 26, 2026.

Clean Slate DC logo

Clean Slate was a 2015–2017 legal-access project that helped DC residents explore whether past marijuana-related criminal records might qualify for sealing or expungement. It grew from the policy changes surrounding marijuana decriminalization and legalization in the District, when many people still carried records from past marijuana-related offenses.

The historical tool is inactive. Its legal logic must not be used as current legal advice.

A timely response to changing marijuana laws

Marijuana record-sealing and expungement rules are difficult to interpret without legal training. Eligibility can depend on the offense, case status, dates, waiting periods, pending matters, and changes in law. A person seeking a clean slate needed a clearer way to understand whether to pursue legal help.

The project began at a local hackathon and later moved into Code for DC. Civic Tech DC volunteers worked with Students in Court DC, now Rising for Justice, to turn legal expertise and a paper-based process into an accessible guided tool.

The JavaScript and React application asked a series of questions and returned a preliminary result: likely eligible, possibly eligible after a waiting period, or not currently eligible. The archived repository also records clinic needs such as intake referrals, attorney training, forms, and explanations of eligibility timelines.

Clean Slate supported triage and education. It did not replace a lawyer:

  • legal experts defined and reviewed the decision logic;
  • the interface explained terms and next steps;
  • attorneys remained responsible for individual cases;
  • the project had to change when the law changed.

That boundary mattered. An outdated or incorrect legal answer could prevent someone from pursuing an important right.

Transition and archive

The Civic Tech DC repository is archived. A March 2016 repository note records the intent to move further development to Mission Launch’s Clean Slate repository, though statute-tracking work continued in the Code for DC repository into early 2017. Both repositories document a historical project, not a current legal service.

The available record does not establish a verified number of users, sealed or expunged records, or legal outcomes. Clean Slate’s documented value lies in its response to a specific policy change, its partnership with legal practitioners, and its decision to keep attorneys in the review process.

For current help with a DC legal matter, consult a qualified legal-services provider and current official information. Rising for Justice is the successor organization to the original clinic partner.

Legal clinics, pro bono practitioners, policy advocates, and community members can bring a current legal-access problem to Civic Tech DC. Start with the people affected, the legal workflow, and the safeguards rather than assuming the answer is software.

You can also learn how subject-matter partners work with Civic Tech DC or meet active teams at a Project Night.