Jessica Gillespie is a Legal Editor and Nolo’s Research Director. Her articles appear on Nolo.com, CriminalDefenseLawyer.com, and Lawyers.com.
Education. Jessica received a B.A. from the University of Virginia, an M.S. in Library and Information Science from Long Island University, and an M.A. in United States History from North Carolina State University. She also did doctoral work in history at the University of Tennessee, where she focused her research on Progressive Era reform movements in the Appalachian South.
Working at Nolo. Jessica joined the Nolo Editorial team in 2014. At Nolo, Jessica conducts legal research and writes and edits articles across many areas of practice, including estate planning, criminal law, and personal injury. She is also the current editor of Nolo’s Legal Forms for Starting & Running a Small Business and a cocreator of many of Nolo’s online legal forms, including the online LLC and online corporation formation services.
Before Nolo. In addition to her background in academia, Jessica has years of experience working in law libraries. Before coming to Nolo, Jessica managed the U.S., E.U., and U.N. documents collections at New York University’s Law Library and worked in the library of a large law firm in Richmond, Virginia, where she provided technical services support and research assistance to attorneys and staff.
Articles By Jessica Gillespie
Maine does not allow the expungement of adult criminal records, except for convictions for Class E crimes committed by people who were 18 to 21 years old at the time of the offense. Otherwise, the state differentiates between “public criminal history record information” and “confidential criminal history information.”
In Illinois, some criminal records can be sealed or expunged under certain conditions. In most cases, after your record is sealed or expunged, the general public won’t be able to view it.
In Kentucky, your criminal record may be expunged -- that is, erased or sealed -- under the circumstances described below. If your record is expunged, it will be hidden from public view and, in most cases, you will not have to disclose that you were arrested or convicted of a crime.
Washington state permits certain recreational marijuana use by adults 21 and older. However, growing cannabis for personal use is not allowed except for qualifying medical marijuana patients.
The possession and sale of any amount of marijuana is illegal in Tennessee, and potential penalties vary by the amount possessed or sold.
The possession and sale of any amount of marijuana is illegal in Iowa.
Except for medical marijuana, weed is illegal in Mississippi. Learn how the laws and penalties work in Mississippi.
The possession and sale of any amount of marijuana is illegal in Indiana, and potential penalties vary by the amount possessed or sold.
The possession and sale of any amount of marijuana is illegal in Kansas, and potential penalties vary by the amount possessed or sold.
In Kansas, many arrest and conviction records can be expunged or sealed so that the general public will not be able to access them. But not all criminal records are eligible..
