Pinard on Collateral Consequences of Convictions

Michael Pinard (University of Maryland Law School) has published Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Confronting Issues of Race and Dignity at The Legal Workshop. An excerpt:

While collateral consequences have always accompanied criminal convictions in the United States, their impact expanded dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s as part of the War on Drugs. And while these consequences have long been considered an afterthought in the criminal justice system, they have recently garnered increased attention, in large part because of the record numbers of individuals—recently eclipsing 700,000 per year—now exiting U.S. correctional facilities and returing to communities across the country. As a result, reentry—or, more accurately, mass reentry—has reached a critical point in the United States. The numerous collateral consequences that attach to convictions frustrate reintegration for both individuals and whole communities.