Author: Colleen Chien

There is a bill this legislative session that will provide that second chance to thousands of Oregonians. Senate Bill 698, or the “Clean Slate’’ act (sponsored by Sen. Manning), automatically expunges criminal records for people who are eligible. Current law states that individuals convicted of low-level offenses who have completed their sentence and then remained… Continue reading Guest Column: Fix Oregon’s broken system for expunging criminal records

In 2021, I co-published a report with Paper Prisons about people in Connecticut with convictions. I also testified for the Clean Slate bill, passed in May 2021, which was supposed to erase the records of misdemeanor and low-level felony convictions after seven or ten years without any conviction. The law was supposed to take effect in January… Continue reading The Clean Slate bill must be enforced to end injustice in CT

“The Clean Slate Initiative works to expand and automate the sealing of arrest and conviction records after people have completed their sentence and remained crime-free for a period of time,” according to the organization’s website. According to the non-profit’s website, they have helped pass legislation to pave the way for over 7 million people who… Continue reading ‘A second chance at life’: Clean Slate Initiative looks to give those with a criminal record a fresh start

According to the ACLU of Oregon, about 42% of Oregonians with criminal records were eligible to have their records expunged in 2021 – about 300,000 people. But less than 10% of those eligible did, said Scott Sharp, an attorney with the Metropolitan Public Defender office in Portland. A forthcoming amendment to the bill would exclude all “person crimes”… Continue reading 300,000 people could have criminal records sealed under Oregon ‘Clean Slate’ bill

After being released, Griffin-Braaf faced a number of barriers as a result of his conviction for selling cocaine, including not being eligible to receive Federal Student Aid. That killed his college dreams. (Such aid would likely have been available to him today.) While Griffin-Braaf persevered, moving up from temp jobs and cleaning hotel toilets to… Continue reading Waite: With Clean Slate proposal, Schenectady council can get down to business

Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposed budget includes $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan funds for the state’s delayed “clean slate” effort. Clean slate — a series of laws expected to go into full effect on Jan. 1 until a delay was announced in early December  — will erase the criminal records of people with certain low-level convictions.… Continue reading CT Politics: CT ‘Clean Slate’ effort gets $1.5M in Lamont’s budget proposal

The November election scrambled the politics of crime in Minnesota. Republican campaigns were hyper-focused on the issue, which followed years of rising violent crime and frequent — and at times sensationalist — media coverage. Democrats ran the table in November anyway.    A legislative session that many expected to focus on tougher criminal penalties and lots of… Continue reading The election changed the politics of crime; criminal justice reformers back on the rise

BY KAYODE CROWN Over a decade ago ago, nine of Kimberly Harris’ acquaintances told the police she burglarized a neighbor’s house in Jackson, Miss. After her arrest, the police released her because “there was no evidence.” Her accusers later went to jail for “false accusation,” Harris, now 38 years old, told the Mississippi Free Press in… Continue reading Advocates Push For Automated Criminal-Record Expungement in Mississippi

By Rebecca Rivas Missourians would be eligible to have their criminal records automatically cleared of misdemeanor convictions three years after serving their sentence, and five years after serving their sentence for felonies. An estimated 518,000 Missourians would benefit within the first couple of years. Crista Hogan estimates tens of thousands of people in Greene County are… Continue reading Missouri Republicans file bills to automatically expunge non-violent offenses from criminal records

Missourians would be eligible to have their criminal records automatically cleared of misdemeanor convictions three years after serving their sentence, and five years after serving their sentence for felonies. An estimated 518,000 Missourians would benefit within the first couple of years. If people want quicker results, they would be able to use the existing petition… Continue reading Missouri Republicans file bills to automatically expunge non-violent offenses from criminal records

by Claudia Levens Missouri’s burdensome process for seeking an expungement has rendered record sealing inaccessible for many who are working in low-wage jobs without bargaining power. Under Missouri’s expungement law, people who have committed certain crimes have the opportunity to get those offenses sealed. When the court seals or expunges a criminal record, it is no longer… Continue reading Missouri’s expungement gap leaves people with criminal records

Activists and experts say the newly elected first female governor of New York State has plenty of promises to deliver on when it comes to prisoner’s rights and clemency. BY REUVEN BLAU  RBLAU@THECITY.NYC After months of largely staying quiet during the unexpectedly competitive governor’s race, not wanting to give fuel to her right-wing opponent, criminal justice reformers… Continue reading Zeldin Threat Passed, Criminal Justice Reformers Ready to Push Hochul

Cook County is home to an estimated 1.3 million people with criminal records — those records can sometimes limit people from certain jobs, housing or even educational opportunities. The Paper Prisons Initiative estimates more than 500,000 of them are eligible to have those records cleared, but advocates say that’s not happening for many of them.… Continue reading Permanent Punishment Conversation: Clearing Records

Erica Gunderson Economic sanctions. Collateral consequences. Permanent punishments. There are 44,000 restrictive federal laws, rules, and policies that continue to penalize people long after they have served their sentence in prison. Permanent Punishment, a four-part series, examines this stark reality faced by nearly 3.3 million men and women in Illinois.  Cook County is home to an… Continue reading Permanent Punishment Conversation: Finding a Path Forward for the Formerly Incarcerated

CLEAN SLATE LAWS are sweeping the country, offering many of the estimated 70 to 100 million people with a criminal record the chance to have their record expunged. The benefits seem straightforward: Making a criminal record no longer publicly available should reduce housing and employment discrimination. The policy aims to give people a second chance, especially those who were… Continue reading ‘Clean Slate’ Justice Laws Offer a Second Chance—Only to Some

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

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 expungement process effective January 1,… Continue reading Delaware governor signs automatic record-clearing law

BY CHLOE HADAVAS 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. But something changed… Continue reading How Automation Bias Encourages the Use of Flawed Algorithms

BY COLLEEN V. CHIEN Seen and unseen, algorithms are being used every day to target ads, optimize decisions, and determine which content and articles (including this one) we see. But while much of the recent news about machine decision-making has been negative, including how it amplifies racial bias, California now has the opportunity to use algorithms to… Continue reading Op-Ed: How California can use technology to wipe the slate clean for millions with criminal records

Criminal-record expungement and sealing laws are an increasingly popular and seemingly simple reform. The logic is sound: For the criminal justice system to work effectively, the system must also let people move on from their past and have equal access to employment and housing, unburdened by the stigma of a criminal record years later. The… Continue reading There’s No Such Thing as Expunging a Criminal Record Anymore