Yes. Rhode Island does not require a lawyer, and the clerk's office accepts motions from people representing themselves. There is no court filing fee, so a denied motion costs you time rather than money, but the time matters. The judge will deny a motion filed before the waiting period has fully run, while a fine or court cost is still unpaid, without notice to the Attorney General and the police department, or on a conviction that can never be expunged, and the denial stays on the docket. Self-filing works best on a single, clearly eligible misdemeanor where no objection is expected. Records with several cases, a felony, a mix of dismissed and convicted counts, or a likely objection from the state are where a lawyer earns the fee, both in building the good moral character file and in arguing the hearing. A lawyer also follows up after the order to confirm the record was actually removed.
