Meet Chicago Attorney Tamara Holder

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Picture this scenario: After months of networking, endless meetings and interviews, you finally land your dream job. The terms are good, the money and benefits are great, and you’re ready to get started. There’s just one more thing – a criminal background check. “No problem,” you say to yourself. “I’ve never been convicted of anything so there’s nothing to worry about.” Then it hits you. “Well, there was that one youthful indiscretion, but nothing ever came of it. My case was thrown out of court.” Well, I have some bad news, my friend. It doesn’t matter how long ago “it” happened. If you were fingerprinted and arrested the record remains and WILL show up on even a cursory background investigation. Is it time to kiss the dream job good bye? Not necessarily. In fact, solving problems like these (see Xpunged.com) is exactly how Attorney Tamara Holder made a name for herself in Chicago law circles.

You might have seen Tamara on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC or any of the major networks where she appears regularly as a legal analyst. However, she’s most well-known for her work in expunging past arrest records for ordinary people. Her practice motto sums up her work nicely – “We are devoted to preventing your past from defining your future.”

Let’s get one thing clear from the get-go. We are not talking about clearing the records of violent criminals. We’re talking about everyday working professionals who may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, or whose actions in the past should not be held against them now. An arrest record for even a seemingly harmless offense can keep you from landing the job, receiving a security clearance, or running for public office.

I recently spoke with Tamara about some of the particulars of her work. He’s what she had to say:

RHM: According to your website, once a person’s fingerprints are “in the system”, they remain there for eternity. Why is it that these records are not automatically expunged when the arrest fails to result in a conviction?

Tamara: Each state has different laws regarding the clearing of one’s criminal record. Most states do not allow for “automatic expungement” unless it is a juvenile case — and even in juvenile cases, some states do not have “automatic expungement.” There are many reasons “why” states do not destroy arrest records. Probably, the most obvious reason is that law enforcement agencies (police, prosecutors) have an interest in maintaining databases and keeping track of people accused of violating the laws. The first thing the police do when investigating a person is pull up their record. If John Doe has a history of domestic violence (or OJ Simpson for that matter!), and his wife ends up dead, the police and prosecutor have an additional sign that he may be the perpetrator. There is also the argument that the public’s interest in being able to access someone’s run-ins with the law is greater than the individual’s interest in having them automatically destroyed. Do you want to hire a cleaning lady who was arrested for theft, even if the case was dismissed? Do you want your daughter to date a guy who was arrested for domestic battery a few times, even if the cases were throw out of court? The answer is probably no, you don’t want to take the risk.

RHM: The topic of fingerprint and DNA databases made me think of everyone who serves in the military. Is there any way a service member can have those records destroyed after they leave the service? Or are those the permanent property of the government?

Tamara: What do you mean by “those records?” Do you mean if a person was previously arrested and then they go into the military, should they have their criminal records expunged upon their return? If that’s what you mean, right now, I don’t know of any state that has that exception to its expungement law. But, it’s a great idea. I get many requests from men seeking to enter the military but they won’t be accepted because of a previous criminal record. Unfortunately, having “Armed Forces” on your resume doesn’t mean as much to employers these days. The employer will still do that background check and, in many cases, one’s time serving this country is overshadowed by a previous arrest record. Remember the case of the Iraq War vet who applied for the NYPD but was unable to get the job because of a gun charge he has on his record from years before he entered the service? The other problem is that the armed forces will often allow someone to enter and overlook a criminal record. In those cases, the person thinks that the criminal record no longer exists. Instead of waiting until the person has served their time to clear a past criminal record, I think the armed forces should prepare their troops before they enter back into the real world. Clear their criminal record, help them fix their credit, etc.

RHM: When most people think of police brutality they envision victims from low socioeconomic conditions. Is that generally the scenario or does it happen in affluent neighborhoods as well?

Tamara: Police brutality generally happens to the “underbelly” of society. Unfortunately, the poor are often the victims because they cannot afford to fight back and they are less educated to understand their rights. For example, I was fighting a case on behalf of public housing residents against the Chicago Police. For years, the police would demand entrance into their homes and told the residents they (the police) had a right to enter any time since they lived in public housing. “The President lives in public housing,” Rev. Jackson once said. But they believed the police because it kinda made sense. It’s also easier for the Police to get away with police brutality. Are you really going to believe a guy with a criminal record a mile long that the police beat him up? Look at the Jon Burge cases: he was a Chicago Police Lt. who came back from Vietnam with torture methods and used them on people in police custody. Many of those men were “bad guys” but still claimed they didn’t commit the crimes for which they were charged under Burge’s investigation. Many of them were placed on death row and eventually pardoned by Gov. Ryan. It was after this mess that Ryan placed a moratorium on the death penalty. (I was involved in the Aaron Patterson case for awhile.)

RHM: What sort of pro bono work are you currently involved with?

Tamara: Pro bono work is an important part of my practice and who I am as a person. I created an expungement clinic at Rev. Jesse L. Jackson’s Rainbow Push Coalition in 2006. I also uncovered a railroad firing scheme of convicted felons, took it to Congress and got many men their jobs back. The above public housing case that occurred at the Harold Ickes Homes in Chicago was also a pro bono case. I sit on the board of Horizon Prison Ministries, devoted to helping rehabilitate people who are inside the prison walls so they will not recidivate. Lastly, I’m working with Scott Loper, who was a victim of torture in Canada and while in their custody, his wife and son disappeared, never to be heard from or seen again.

Thanks for your time, Tamara.

Caveat Emptor

Tamara does great work, but expunging your official record is not a magic bullet. Douglas Belkin of the Wall Street Journal warns:

Expungement doesn’t wipe away all traces. Local news Web sites routinely post arrest mug shots, which are nearly impossible to eradicate from the Internet. Search engines can turn up a smattering of decades-old news and police reports, plus caches of newer ones. Arrests that have been legally expunged may remain on databases that data-harvesting companies offer to prospective employers; such background companies are under no legal obligation to erase them.

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