Kansas is considering legislation to end debt-driven driver’s license suspensions for unpaid fines, fees and court costs. It is estimated that over 127,000 Kansas drivers licenses are currently suspended due to failure to appear in traffic court due to unpaid fines, fees, and court costs. These suspensions are often an extension of the debt collection […]
Though Minnesota already had an expungement act, the process proved too costly for many. On top of fees that could rise above $300, the procedure also took too long. These issues meant that few eligible individuals attempted expungement. A study by Santa Clara University found that only 5% of eligible Minnesota residents had their records expunged,
MINNESOTA (StarTribune) – Minnesota earlier this year became the 11th state to enact legislation making it easier to expunge certain nonviolent criminal records. The expungement process is typically burdensome, costing money and a lot of time. But with the Clean Slate Act, that process has been streamlined and automated for qualifying offenses. To share more
ST. PAUL, Mn (CBS) – State lawmakers and advocates are celebrating second chances for thousands of Minnesotans with criminal records who will soon see their low-level convictions expunged under a new law that takes effect in just over a year. “The Clean Slate Act,” passed by the state legislature this session, sets up a process for
MINNESOTA (Minnesota Reformer) – Attorney General Keith Ellison will be hosting a clinic in north Minneapolis this week to help eligible people get their criminal records wiped clean. The AG is working with New Justice Project and the Pathways to True Freedom Foundation on the clinic, which is 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at
The Clean Slate Act takes various forms in different states, but generally the legislation seals the criminal records of former prisoners after they’ve served their time. New York’s Clean Slate Act bill would automatically seal the records of offenders who have served their sentence plus stayed out of trouble for several years afterward — three years
On April 26, 2023, the CrimProfBlog, edited by Professor Kevin Cole of the University of San Diego School of Law highlights Paper Prisons and Second Chance research on Minnesota’s Second Chance Expungement Gap, Texas’ Second Chance Non-Disclosure/Sealing Gap, Illinois’ Second Chance Expungement/Sealing Gap, and Missouri’s Second Chance Expungement Gap.
Sheena Meade’s powerful TED Talk makes the case for Clean Slate based on Paper Prisons’ research “30 million people are eligible to get their record cleared…Less than 10 percent of those people actually get it done.”
The 2023 Legislative session is in full swing and Paper Prisons has produced research that has been cited in several ongoing campaigns. Below we highlight key findings from our reports on the “second chance gap” in expungement remedies offered under the laws of Missouri, Oregon, Illinois, Texas, Minnesota, and New York: A summary of the
On April 18, 2023, the Public Defenseless Podcast hosted Professor Colleen Chien and law student Alyssa Aguilar from Santa Clara University to discuss the Paper Prisons Initiative. The podcast starts by discussing the speakers’ motivations (5:30). Professor Chien discussed founding the Initiative after her research was validated by the experience of seeing numerous mentees and