This comprehensive survey describes for each United States jurisdiction the laws and practices relating to restoration of rights and obtaining relief from the collateral disabilities and penalties that accompany a criminal conviction. It is the first-of-its-kind, and it illustrates the extraordinary variety and complexity of state and federal laws that impose a continuing burden on convicted persons long after the court-imposed sentence has been fully discharged. It is an important resource for policymakers interested in offender reentry and reintegration, for practitioners at all levels of the criminal justice system, and for people with a criminal record who are seeking to put their past behind them.
It is essential for government officials to be able to determine the rights and responsibilities of individuals with a criminal conviction, both to ensure compliance with the law and to provide appropriate advice to affected individuals seeking guidance. It is also critically important for individuals with a criminal record to understand their rights, and how they can overcome or mitigate the lingering collateral consequences of their conviction. Finally, it is important for policymakers and citizens to understand the continuing burden that the law places on criminal offenders seeking a fresh start, so that they can make informed decisions about whether particular legislative and policy choices make sense.
The resource guide concludes:
[w]hile every jurisdiction provides at least one way that a criminal offender can avoid or mitigate the collateral penalties and disabilities associated with a conviction, in most jurisdictions this relief mechanism is inaccessible and unreliable. Moreover, applicants for relief cannot expect success upon satisfaction of some clear standard of behavior or accomplishment. As a practical matter, in most jurisdictions people convicted of a crime have no hope of ever being able to fully discharge their debt to society. Notwithstanding our fond national self-image, ours is not a land of second chances, at least as far as the legal system is concerned . . .
[A]s more and more people have a criminal record, relief from the collateral consequences of conviction has never seemed more elusive in most of the states and for federal offenders. It would seem that if rehabilitation of criminal offenders is a desirable social goal, it would be helpful to begin serious discussion of the growing contrary pressures that seem to consign all persons with a criminal record to the margins of society, and to a permanent outcast status in the eyes of the law.
Below are 54 profiles of the law and practice in each U.S. jurisdiction for download in Adobe Acrobat format. These state guidelines will be included in the appendix of the full resource guide. In addition there is a set of eight tables illustrating the national patterns in restoration practices, as well as comparing policies across jurisdictions.
Comments and contributions are warmly welcomed by the author, who will update the study on a regular ongoing basis. You may also visit the author's Web site.
For more information or to order the book, please visit the website of W.S. Hein.
Table #1: Models for Administration of Pardon Power in the United States
Table #2: Characteristics of Independent Pardon Boards
Table #3: Characteristics of Boards Whose Recommendations Bind Governor
Table #4: Characteristics of 13 Most Active Pardon Authorities
Table #5: Judicial Expungement, Sealing, and Set-Aside
Table #6: Consideration of Criminal Record in Licensing and Employment
Table #7: Right to Vote After a Felony ConvictionTable #8: Discretionary Restoration of the Vote After a Felony Conviction