Citizens for Change, America

July 15, 2009 – A new act approved today by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), a national law reform group, addresses the consequences of the conviction of a crime that are imposed by law in addition to direct penalties imposed by the judge.  Traditionally, offenders are sentenced to fines, probation, and jail or prison terms.  When this punishment is complete, as far as the criminal justice system is concerned, the offender has done the time and repaid his or her debt to society.  However, today’s offenders learn – often too late – that they have only begun to suffer the consequences of their convictions after they have served their sentences. More and more, states are imposing subsequent penalties and disabilities on those convicted of particular crimes.  These “collateral consequences” are in addition to those imposed at sentencing. The sanctions vary from state to state, but they generally relate to restrictions on voting, occupational licensing, vehicle licensing, firearm restrictions, offender registration, and public benefits. Preliminary studies show that, in many states, literally hundreds of these consequences may apply.  Unlike direct consequences of conviction, collateral consequences are often unknown, may prove devastating, and often last a lifetime.

To deal with this issue, the Uniform Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act was approved today by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) at its 118^th Annual Meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The provisions of the Uniform Act are largely procedural, and designed to rationalize and clarify polices and provisions which are already widely accepted in the states.

The Act includes provisions to ensure that defendants are aware of the existence of collateral sanctions before conviction, are reminded of them at release, govern the effect of out of state convictions, and provide limited means by which some offenders may obtain relief from many such consequences.

Concern about the impact of collateral consequences has grown in recent years as the numbers and complexity of these consequences have mushroomed and the U.S. prison population has grown. There is a real concern on a societal level that collateral consequences may impose such harsh burdens on convicted persons that they will be unable to reintegrate into society.

The below files are important but Unsorted or Filed.

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American Civil Liberties Union, (ACLU) Fighting for your rights across America.
Cases, and Forms you can fill out to fight the laws that are hurting you and your family.

Everyone has an opinion about Sex Offender Legislation. This section is for documentation of comments by Professionals who have hands on experience in dealing with Crime and Punishment.