HARTFORD, Co. (CT Mirror) – As a concerned resident of Connecticut and a victim of the state’s criminal justice system, I am deeply troubled by the results of a data analysis I did for all criminal convictions from 1980 to 2022. In 2021, I co-published a report with Paper Prisons about people in Connecticut with convictions. I […]
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBOC) — A proposed Maryland Senate Bill, the Maryland Clean Slate Act of 2024, aims to simplify the process of record expungement for individuals with criminal records. The bill was brought before the State Judicial Proceedings Committee today for a hearing. According to the Maryland Paper Prisons Initiative, approximately 1 million adults in
NEW YORK (Reason Foundation) – Encouraging people to lead law-abiding lives following punishment for a crime becomes challenging when a criminal record interferes with their ability to get a job or rent an apartment years after they’ve paid their debt to society. To promote effective reintegration, New York recently joined states like California, Michigan, and
BEKELEY, Ca. (Berkeley Law) – More than 500 people registered for Berkeley Law’s recent California Racial Justice Act Symposium, which examined the 2020 Act’s early implementation and implications. Presented by the school’s Criminal Law & Justice Center and Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law, the event welcomed expert lawyers, computer scientists, scholars, government officials, criminal justice nonprofit leaders, students, and others
BERKELEY, Ca. (By: Andrew Cohen) – Berkeley Law highlights the inaugural California Racial Justice Act Symposium, in which Berkeley Law Professor, Colleen Chien, talks about the Paper Prisons Initiative to address the gap between eligibility for relief from the criminal justice system and actually gaining that relief. Link to Berkeley Law article here Link to YouTube video
BERKELEY, Ca. (CNS) – In the two years since California passed the Racial Justice Act, attorneys and public defenders say there has been slow progress toward criminal justice reform and pursuit of a less biased system. University of California, Berkeley’s Criminal Law and Justice Center and the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law hosted a symposium
With the start of the new year, Paper Prisons has posted research reports on the “second chance gap” in expungement remedies offered under the laws of Maryland, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Kentucky. We find that in each state, only a fraction of people eligible for relief are getting it. We further estimate the number of people
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