Criminal Conviction

This work is the first complete survey of U.S. laws and practices that overcome or mitigate the collateral legal consequences of a criminal conviction. It begins with short analytical pieces on executive pardon, judicial expungement and sealing, deferred adjudication and set-aside, certificates of rehabilitation, and laws that limit consideration of conviction in connection with employment and licensing. Author Margaret Colgate Love is Director of the ABA Commission on Effective Criminal Sanctions.

The heart of the guide is its detailed descriptions of available relief mechanisms for each U.S. jurisdiction and how they operate. A Table of Charts allows easy state-to-state comparisons. The guide is an invaluable resource for policymakers and legal researchers dealing with the barriers to offender re-entry and for practitioners at every level of the justice system.

This work, the first-ever effort to catalog and analyze the relief mechanisms in every state, will be an indispensable field manual for practitioners and a valuable tool for advocates and policymakers.