A lawyer's frustration becomes a tech solution
Noella Sudbury's years as a public defender in Salt Lake County exposed her to a painful truth: people who wanted to rebuild their lives after convictions faced huge obstacles. Many of her clients were making real efforts to turn their lives around, but even minor past charges—often for drug-related incidents or shoplifting—showed up on background checks, making housing and job opportunities nearly out of reach. For so many, the system didn’t just block progress; it punished it.
Determined to help, Sudbury started organizing expungement clinics, places where people could have their records legally erased if they qualified. But this solution had its own limits. It often took a lawyer up to an hour just to go through a person’s entire legal history, and by evening Sudbury had to tell people the lawyers were leaving for the day. One man arrived with a suitcase stuffed with documents, a situation Sudbury called “a digital problem in disguise.” She realized all that information was already stored somewhere—waiting to be used more efficiently.
AI streamlines the legal process
As news spread about AI replacing jobs in tech and customer service, Sudbury saw an opportunity. Instead of fearing AI, she used it to help people keep their jobs. Through her startup, Rasa Legal, she developed an app that can quickly determine if someone is eligible for expungement—often in just three minutes. The app automates the process of evaluating a person’s record, cutting the time it takes for a lawyer to file a petition in half. Sudbury says this automation allows them to help far more people than traditional, manual methods ever could.
Since 2022, Rasa Legal has already helped 34,000 individuals in Utah, Arizona, and Pennsylvania clear their records. The app is designed to adapt to each state’s specific laws, reducing the burden on legal professionals. Sudbury estimates that about 70 million adults in the U.S. carry some kind of criminal record—ranging from felony convictions to arrests that never led to charges. A 2020 study by Colleen Chien, a professor at UC Berkeley, suggests at least 20 million of them could legally clear their records but haven’t. For Sudbury, this is a huge untapped opportunity for second chances.
Beyond the paperwork: Real lives changed
The true impact of Sudbury’s work shows in people like Virginia Mireles. Mireles began using heroin at 14, influenced by an uncle who mistook care for control. By 24, she was in and out of prison, caught in a cycle that made rebuilding her life nearly impossible. Every time she got out, it was hard to find work or stable housing. Her record, filled with five felony charges related to drug use, stood in the way. But through Rasa Legal, she was able to clear those charges, opening a real door to the future she had long been denied.
Sudbury's work has drawn attention to what UC Berkeley professor Colleen Chien calls the “second chance expungement gap.” This term refers to the millions of people who could legally clear their records but haven’t due to slow, costly, and complicated processes. These individuals are often from low-income backgrounds, where legal barriers can feel like social walls. Sudbury’s use of AI is helping close that gap by making the expungement process faster and more accessible, especially for those with the most to gain.
In a country where criminal records can haunt people for years, Sudbury’s mission reflects a growing recognition of the human cost of these barriers. It’s not just about legal reform—it’s about restoring dignity and opportunity for those who are often overlooked. By combining tech innovation with a deep understanding of the justice system, Sudbury is proving that second chances are not only possible, but within reach for many more people.
The scale of the problem is staggering, with millions of Americans affected by the lingering effects of past mistakes. For Sudbury, the solution lies in technology—specifically AI—to remove the bureaucratic hurdles that stand in the way of a fresh start. Her approach is a testament to the power of creative problem-solving in a field that often moves at a glacial pace.
Sudbury’s work also highlights how automation, often seen as a threat in the modern job market, can become a tool for inclusion. By streamlining expungement, Rasa Legal is helping people who are otherwise excluded from employment and housing opportunities. This shift is not just legal; it’s social and economic in nature. As Sudbury puts it, the goal isn’t just to clear records—it’s to clear futures.
With more states considering legal reforms, the potential for AI and tech tools to scale expungement efforts is vast. Sudbury’s vision is to make such tools available nationwide, ensuring that no one is unfairly penalized for the past when they’ve done everything they can to move forward. Her journey from public defender to tech innovator shows how passion and purpose can drive change—even in the most complex corners of the law.
