Paper Prisons

More than one million Coloradans with criminal records could have their records automatically sealed under a bill introduced in the Colorado Senate on Tuesday. Senate Bill 22-099 would implement an automatic sealing process for non-violent criminal records, including civil infractions, by expanding an existing automatic sealing process exclusive to certain drug… Continue reading Colorado Senate bill aims to automatically seal non-violent criminal records

Law360 (October 29, 2019, 8:00 PM EDT) — The world of legal technology is evolving quickly, with new products coming to market in rapid succession. Recent developments include Latham’s creation of programs in which students can gain virtual experience in M&A and white collar law, the announcement of two new… Continue reading Legal Tech Download: Virtual Learning And Tech Certification

Santa Clara Law hosts an annual hackathon to help nonprofit and public sector organizations find tech solutions to inequities in the criminal justice system. Teams of engineers, lawyers and marketers make up the hacking teams that tackle these problems. Listen to the Podcast

From 2013 to June 2017, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s New York Field Office determined that about 47 percent of detainees designated as “low risk” should be released while they waited for their immigration cases to be resolved, according to FOIA data obtained by the New York Civil Liberties Union.… Continue reading How Automation Bias Encourages the Use of Flawed Algorithms

Delaware lawmakers passed two bills this year that overhaul access to second chances, making it easier for more than 290,000 people to move beyond the collateral consequences of a criminal record. The two pieces of legislation – Senate Bill 111 and Senate Bill 112 – expand access to Delaware’s mandatory… Continue reading Delaware governor signs automatic record-clearing law

State lawmakers and legislators vehemently urged the state Legislature on Tuesday to reconvene in a special session to seal the criminal records of millions of New Yorkers and give them a clean slate. The Clean Slate bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, D-Queens, failed to pass the Legislature before session… Continue reading Lawmakers request special session to pass Clean Slate

Checkr, Inc., the leading technology company in the background check industry, announced today it has launched an end-to-end solution for job candidates to complete expungements and clear their criminal records. This solution, the first of its kind in the industry, removes the complexities and high legal fees typically associated with expungements and… Continue reading Checkr Launches Expungement Solution and Sets Goal to Clear 1,000 Job Seekers’ Records for Free

Years ago, when Tony Bibbs was looking for landscaping work in Rochester, New York, he put in applications at dozens of small operations, always writing “will discuss in an interview” in response to the question about having a criminal record. Between the ages of 17 and 32, he was, he… Continue reading To Boost Hiring, New York Makes Case for a ‘Clean Slate’

The Clean Slate bill is set to pass the state Legislature before session ends this week after lawmakers negotiated a deal overnight to change the measure to seal, and no longer expunge, New Yorkers’ criminal records after completing a prison sentence. Initially, Clean Slate was set to automatically seal and… Continue reading Lawmakers reach compromise to pass Clean Slate bill this week

A new poll being released as lawmakers prepare for the final push of the legislative session shows wide support for a measure that would give New Yorkers who paid their debt to society a fresh start. The Clean Slate coalition is touting polling data showing overwhelming support for a bill… Continue reading Advocates tout poll showing broad support for Clean Slate bill

Washington, D.C. — Earlier this week, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, the Michigan Senate passed legislation that positions Michigan to become the third state with a clean slate automated record-clearing law on the books. Michigan’s clean slate package is historic in that it makes Michigan the first state to automatically clear… Continue reading Michigan Becomes Latest State To Pass Clean Slate Legislation, First To Include Felonies

The House of Representatives voted 91-56 for final passage Thursday night of a “clean slate” bill, sending to a publicly noncommittal governor a measure that would automatically erase certain criminal convictions from a person’s record if they go seven or 10 years without committing another crime. “This bill today is… Continue reading Bill that would erase certain criminal convictions from records passes in CT House

The State Senate Codes Committee voted in favor of the Clean Slate Act Wednesday, moving the bill forward for a vote in the full body. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Assmeblymember Catalina Cruz, would establish a two-step process to automatically sealing and later automatically expunge old conviction… Continue reading Clean Slate Act inches closer to approval with vote in Senate committee

For decades, America’s policy has been to maximize harsh prison sentences in order to deter crime. These policies, rather than producing a freer and more prosperous society, instead resulted in the incarceration of a staggering amount of people and burdened even more with lifelong records.  Today, nearly 1 in 3… Continue reading Serving Life Sentences in Paper Prisons

Democratic lawmakers in New York this week are unveiling a push for the passage of a measure that would expunge or seal some criminal convictions.  The measure is known as a “clean slate” bill that is meant to lessen the impact of criminal convictions on a person once their sentence is completed. … Continue reading Lawmakers, advocates to call for “clean slate” bill

Professor Colleen V. Chien of Santa Clara University has published a major empirical study in the Michigan Law Review that examines the gap between eligibility for and actual delivery of relief from contact with the criminal justice system, a construct she calls the “second chance gap.” (The term is defined with examples here.) Last… Continue reading Study measures gap between availability and delivery of “second chance” relief

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Monday that would expand the criteria for expungements related to traffic offenses, marijuana convictions and minor crimes, even making some offenses eligible for automatic expungement. Whitmer signed the seven-bill “Clean Slate” package alongside Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Attorney General Dana Nessel, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan… Continue reading Whitmer signs ‘Clean Slate’ legislation aiming to expand expungement opportunities