Philosophically they don't think those who've broken the law should get a clean slate. While the mood nationally surrounding expungement has dramatically improved, some prosecutors and judges remain skeptical or outright opposed to records clearing. The county has had more than 11,500 people come through since legislators implemented the law. But in Marion County, the prosecutor's office has hired a full-time paralegal to process all requests. A recent survey showed that more than 80 percent of managers - and two-thirds of human resource professionals - "feel that the value workers with criminal records bring to the organization is as high as or higher than that of workers without records."Īs in many other states, the work of sealing and expungement in Indiana mostly falls to nonprofit legal groups and private attorneys. With the national jobless rate at historical lows, many companies are looking at new ways to hire additional workers. The rate is even higher for African-Americans who've had run-ins with the law. unemployment rate during any historical period, including the Great Depression. One study estimates that the unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people is more than 27 percent - far higher than the total U.S. Without that help, the chance of people returning to the criminal justice system increases. National Voters Relax Marijuana Laws In 3 More States: Michigan, Utah, Missouriįor example, there's a growing body of evidence that it undermines public safety if you don't help people move beyond their criminal records and participate in the workforce. While reformers largely welcome the moves by states, there's concern that a patchwork of laws as well as steep legal fees, prosecutorial foot-dragging and other barriers have blunted what is otherwise seen as a rare area of bipartisan, effective reform. The reform trend reflects an emerging consensus that the social and economic problems created by mass prosecution and incarceration call for a fundamental reimagining of the criminal justice system. "No one should underestimate how much even the most minor of misdemeanor convictions - including marijuana or trespassing or any kind of conviction - can affect someone's ability to get a job, to get housing and to function fully in society," says Roberts, who also co-directs the Criminal Justice Clinic at American University in Washington, D.C.
With background checks ubiquitous for jobs, schools, mortgage applications and more, even one conviction - and sometimes even just one arrest - can dog people for years, critics say, relegating them to permanent second-class status. "Because now I kind of felt like a human."
"I felt like something was lifted off," she says of her case. After working in home health care for nearly 20 years and making just over $11 an hour, she landed a much better-paying job in a hospital as an operating room assistant once her records were sealed. The state-level reforms have helped tens of thousands of people across the United States. "So there's certainly an economic incentive for allowing people to move beyond their criminal record." "It hurts communities, it hurts counties and it hurts states if their citizens cannot be productively employed or aren't part of the tax base," says American University law professor Jenny Roberts, who has written extensively on the collateral consequences of convictions. There are also purely economic reasons to encourage the sealing of criminal records.
Fairness is another factor, with lawmakers from both parties rethinking the long-term consequences of certain criminal records, as well as the economic impact of mass incarceration. Marijuana legalization and decriminalization have played a big role in driving these reforms. In the last two years, more than 20 states have expanded or added laws to help people move on from their criminal records - most involve misdemeanors. Indiana is among several states to change their approach to the restoration of a person's rights and status after an arrest or conviction. Jenny Roberts, professor, American University Washington College of Law It hurts communities, it hurts counties and it hurts states if their citizens cannot be productively employed or aren't part of the tax base.