The former Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge won last night’s primary, beating out four rival Democrats. McGinty says one of the first things he’d do as county prosecutor is review and revise the county’s current expungement rule. He says right now, it’s too restrictive and difficult to work with.
“It takes a single offense…if somebody had, ah, welfare fraud, and they had a misdemeanor also, they’re not eligible for expungement. Even though it was 20 years ago," explains McGinty. "And the lady is now looking for a job to help raise her kids or grandkids, or whatever. And she can’t get work in the field she wants because of that welfare fraud and the misdemeanor.”
McGinty says he’ll probably increase the number of offenses committed, and give oversight of expungement enforcement to individual judges.
McGinty will run against independent Edward Wade Jr. in November for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office. Given the dominant Democratic presence in the county, odds are strong that he’ll win the contest.