This lawyer believes in second chances. Now AI is providing a boost
Noella Sudbury, a former public defender in Utah, has founded Rasa Legal, a nonprofit that uses artificial intelligence to help people with criminal records get them expunged, opening the door to better job prospects. The initiative targets what is described as the "second chance expungement gap": an estimated 20 million Americans are legally eligible to clear their records, typically after remaining offence-free for one to ten years, but have not done so. Sudbury previously helped pass Utah's 2019 Clean Slate law, and her work matters because expungement is linked to significantly better employment and earnings outcomes for people who have served their time.
Rasa's technology can determine a person's eligibility for expungement in around three minutes and has cut the lawyer time needed to file petitions by more than half, from 10-12 hours down to roughly five, with AI drafting court statements for review by a solicitor. Since launching in 2022, Rasa has cleared records for 34,000 people across Utah, Arizona and Pennsylvania, with over 90% of filed petitions approved; more than 70 million American adults hold a criminal record, and research cited in the piece suggests wages rise by an average of 22% within a year of expungement. Fees include a free eligibility check, a $25 attorney consultation and a $500 flat rate for the expungement itself, and the organisation also employs people with lived experience of incarceration, such as Virginia Mireles, to support clients through the process.
In short
- Nonprofit Rasa Legal uses AI to speed up criminal record expungements
- AI cuts lawyer filing time from 12 hours to about five
- 34,000 records cleared since 2022; wages rise ~22% after expungement
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Expungement laws already establish that millions are legally eligible to clear their records, yet cost and complexity prevent them from accessing this right. Rasa simply removes barriers to what the law already permits, with strong evidence showing that expungement dramatically improves employment and wages whilst reducing recidivism. Scaling access through AI with human oversight makes justice available to all, not just the wealthy, fulfilling the existing law's promise of second chances.
The case against
Whilst supporting second chances, critics argue that the traditional deliberative pace of expungement serves important purposes. Individual court review allows consideration of each case's particulars, victims' interests, and public safety concerns. Some contend that rapid, algorithm-assisted mass expungement risks bypassing meaningful discretion and undermines the careful accountability courts should provide. Justice systems depend on public confidence that serious decisions receive individual consideration rather than algorithmic efficiency.
Explained simply
A criminal record can make it harder to find work, even after someone has served their sentence. In the United States, some people can have certain records sealed or cleared through a legal process called expungement, often after staying offence-free for a set period.
Noella Sudbury is a former public defender in Utah who helped pass the state’s 2019 Clean Slate law and later founded Rasa Legal. The nonprofit uses artificial intelligence to check whether someone may qualify and help prepare court paperwork, which a lawyer reviews.
Many people who are legally eligible have not applied, in part because the process can take time and money. Expungement is associated with better job prospects and higher earnings, so the gap matters to people seeking to move on from a past conviction.
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