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 Americans have some sort of […]
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. The bill would cover both
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 week, Chien led a team
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 and the bills’ sponsors. House
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
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 in the
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
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