Criminal Legal Advocacy
PROGRAMMING & SERVICES
Overview
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle’s Advocacy & Community Engagement (ACE) department focuses on protecting the civil liberties of Black and other vulnerable minority communities in King County, WA state.
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Program Updates
Vacating Records Program
Our Vacating Records Program is currently paused as we restructure the program to better meet the evolving needs of our community. During this time, we are evaluating how we can provide the greatest impact while ensuring community members have access to meaningful, high-quality support.
We value every person who seeks assistance from ULMS and are committed to building a program that is responsive, accessible, and equipped to provide the level of support our community deserves.
At ULMS, we believe every community member should have the opportunity, resources, and support needed to move forward and thrive. Our commitment to reentry extends beyond any single program.
We work to help community members overcome barriers and access resources that support long-term stability and opportunity, including:
- Housing: Connecting individuals and families with resources that support access to safe and stable housing.
- Civic Engagement: Supporting people returning from incarceration in understanding and restoring their voting rights.
- Employment & Career Development: Providing pathways to employment and economic opportunity through programs such as Career Bridge and Construction Trades.
- Wraparound Support: Connecting community members with additional ULMS programs and resources that can support their individual reentry journey.
While the Vacating Records Program is being restructured, ULMS remains committed to supporting successful reentry and helping community members build pathways toward stability, opportunity, and self-determination.
Change doesn’t happen without community voices. You have the power to help shape the policies, systems, and decisions that affect you, your family, and your community.
Stay informed, speak up, and make your voice heard. Community members can take action by contacting their elected officials, learning about the issues affecting their communities, participating in the civic process, and exercising their right to vote.
Ready to take action?
Visit our Civic Engagement & Voting page to find resources that can help you stay informed, get involved, and make your voice count.
Page Link: https://urbanleague.org/this-person-votes/
Why is this work important?
Criminal Justice Reform Matters
Criminal justice reform is essential to building more equitable communities across Washington State. At the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, we advocate for systems that promote fairness, accountability, opportunity, and dignity for every member of our community.
For generations, Black, Indigenous, other communities of color, and low-income communities have experienced disproportionate impacts from incarceration and inequities throughout the criminal justice system. Those impacts do not end when a sentence is served. They can follow individuals and families for years, creating barriers to employment, housing, civic participation, financial stability, and overall well-being.
The consequences of incarceration also extend beyond the individual. They can disrupt families, deepen existing inequities, destabilize communities, affect physical and mental health, and limit opportunities for successful reentry.
The lasting impacts can include:
Criminal records can significantly limit access to employment, career advancement, and opportunities to build long-term financial stability.
Incarceration can separate families, disrupt caregiving relationships, and create lasting emotional and economic challenges for children and loved ones.
Incarceration and the challenges associated with reentry can have long-term effects on an individual’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
Criminal records and reentry barriers can make securing safe, stable, and affordable housing significantly more difficult.
Justice involvement can create barriers to civic participation and other rights and opportunities that are critical to full participation in community life.
Criminal justice reform is about more than changing policies. It is about removing barriers, strengthening families, expanding opportunity, and ensuring that involvement with the justice system does not determine the trajectory of a person’s entire life.
"Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America." -- John Lewis
If you know you know!
Understanding the Criminal Legal System
The criminal legal system has a lasting impact on individuals, families, and communities. Understanding how policies, sentencing practices, incarceration, and systemic inequities have shaped that system is an important part of understanding why criminal justice reform remains necessary today.
At the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, we believe education is an important part of advocacy. By understanding how these systems operate and who is most impacted by them, community members can be better equipped to advocate for meaningful and equitable change.
Mass incarceration refers to the large-scale and sustained use of prisons, jails, probation, parole, and other forms of state supervision.
It is about more than the number of people who are incarcerated. Mass incarceration is also shaped by policies and practices related to policing, sentencing, the length of sentences, and social and economic inequities.
Thousands of Washington residents are incarcerated in state correctional facilities, with the impacts of incarceration extending far beyond prison walls.
Understanding who is incarcerated, how incarceration rates have changed, and which communities are disproportionately represented can help us better understand where reform is needed.
The impact of incarceration is not experienced equally across Washington communities. Black Washingtonians are incarcerated at disproportionately high rates compared with their share of the state’s overall population.
These disparities reflect why racial equity must remain part of conversations about sentencing, incarceration, reentry, and criminal justice reform.
Change is actually possible.
Advocacy Creates Change
Meaningful change to the criminal legal system is possible. Across Washington, policy changes and court decisions have helped remove barriers, reconsider long-standing practices, and create more equitable opportunities for people impacted by the criminal legal system.
Community education, civic participation, and advocacy all play an important role in continuing that progress. Understanding how policies have changed—and where inequities remain—can help communities advocate for what comes next.
Washington’s Fair Chance Act, also known as “Ban the Box,” changed when most employers can ask applicants about criminal history during the hiring process.
The law was designed to give qualified applicants an opportunity to be considered for employment before a criminal record becomes part of the hiring conversation.
Why it matters: Employment is an important part of economic stability and successful reentry. Reducing unnecessary employment barriers can create greater opportunities for people with past convictions.
In 2021, the Washington Supreme Court issued its decision in State v. Blake, finding Washington’s felony drug possession statute unconstitutional.
The decision created significant changes for people who had been convicted under the law and opened the door for eligible convictions to be vacated and related legal financial obligations to be addressed.
Why it matters: The Blake decision affected people across Washington and demonstrated how changes within the legal system can create opportunities to address the lasting consequences of previous convictions.
Washington continued reforms related to Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs), including changes affecting the fines and fees imposed on people with limited financial resources and people involved with the juvenile legal system.
These reforms reduced or eliminated certain court-imposed costs and continued a broader shift toward considering an individual’s ability to pay.
Why it matters: Court debt can create financial barriers that continue long after a person’s involvement with the criminal legal system, affecting financial stability and successful reentry.
services
Working Families Tax Credit
Up to 400,000 families who meet eligibility requirements may qualify to receive refunds of up to $1,255.
What you need to know.
Understanding Legal Financial Obligations
Legal Financial Obligations, commonly called LFOs, are court-ordered financial obligations that can result from involvement with the criminal legal system. They can include fines, fees, restitution, and other costs.
For generations, these financial obligations have created significant burdens for people and families with limited financial resources. Unpaid court debt can affect financial stability and has historically created additional barriers for people working to move forward after a conviction.
Over time, advocacy, legislation, and court decisions have changed how certain LFOs are imposed and collected in Washington. While progress has been made, understanding these financial barriers remains an important part of advocating for a more equitable criminal legal system.
A History of Financial Barriers
During the 1980s and 1990s, Washington courts increasingly relied on fines and fees associated with criminal cases. According to the Advocacy Team’s research, LFOs could be imposed without sufficient consideration of an individual’s financial circumstances, while unpaid obligations could accrue significant interest.
These debts could follow people for years. In addition to creating financial hardship, unpaid LFOs could create barriers to the record-vacating process.
A Shift in Policy
Washington has since taken steps to change how LFOs are imposed and collected.
In 2015, the Washington Supreme Court’s State v. Blazina decision required courts to make an individualized inquiry into a person’s ability to pay before imposing discretionary LFOs.
Additional court decisions and legislative reforms followed. In 2018, House Bill 1783 made significant changes to Washington’s LFO system, including eliminating interest on certain non-restitution LFOs and restricting discretionary costs for people who are indigent.
These changes reflect a growing recognition that a person’s inability to pay should not create an ongoing cycle of court debt and additional barriers to stability.
Reducing Financial Barriers for Washington Youth
Washington has also made significant changes to Legal Financial Obligations in the juvenile legal system.
Beginning July 1, 2023, Washington courts could no longer impose or collect many fines, fees, court costs, administrative fees, and surcharges associated with juvenile court cases. Restitution remains an allowable financial obligation.
These reforms are particularly important because court debt can create consequences that follow young people and their families beyond the courtroom, potentially affecting education, employment, housing, credit, and long-term financial stability.
Reducing unnecessary financial barriers can help ensure that involvement with the juvenile legal system does not create additional obstacles as young people move into adulthood.
What Is Restitution?
Restitution is a court-ordered payment intended to compensate victims for certain losses associated with an offense. Depending on the circumstances, restitution may include costs associated with property damage or loss, medical care, counseling, lost wages, and other eligible expenses.
Restitution is treated differently from many other Legal Financial Obligations and remains allowable in Washington juvenile cases.
Because every legal situation is different, individuals with questions about their specific financial obligations should consult an appropriate legal service provider or court resource.
A person’s financial circumstances should not determine their ability to successfully move forward after involvement with the criminal legal system.
ULMS supports continued efforts to reduce inequitable financial barriers, increase access to accurate information and legal resources, and ensure that reforms center the communities most impacted by court debt.
How you can engage.
Your Voice Has Power
Changes to our criminal legal system don’t happen in isolation. Community members have the power to help shape the laws, policies, and decisions that affect their lives.
Whether you have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system, have a loved one who has, or simply want to see a more equitable system in Washington, your voice matters.
Voting, contacting elected officials, staying informed about legislation, sharing your experiences, and participating in advocacy are all ways to make your voice heard.
Past involvement with the criminal legal system does not necessarily mean you have lost your ability to vote.
Understanding your voting rights is an important part of making sure your voice is represented in decisions that affect you, your family, and your community.
Your elected officials make decisions about policies that affect criminal justice, sentencing, reentry, housing, employment, and other issues impacting our communities.
Contacting your representatives is one way to tell policymakers what matters to you and what you want to see change.
Advocacy doesn’t begin and end at the ballot box. Staying informed, participating in community conversations, following legislation, and speaking up about the issues that affect your community are all forms of civic engagement.
Explore ULMS Civic Engagement resources to learn more about voting, advocacy, and opportunities to participate.
The policies that shape our criminal legal system affect real people, families, and communities. Those same communities deserve a voice in shaping what the system becomes.
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"All advocacy is, at its core, an act of empathy." -- Samantha Power
A criminal history can limit opportunities for employment, housing, and exercising your right to vote.
Prepared by our Advocacy & Civic Engagement department, the following ‘Voting & Vacating Criminal Records’ workbook was designed to help inform you of your voters rights (no matter your current circumstances) and guide you in navigating and understanding the process of vacating a criminal record in the state of Washington.
If you or a loved one has a criminal record in King County, our hope is to equip you with the resources and confidence you need to finally and legally say ‘no’ when faced with the question “Do you have a criminal history?”