Rethinking the Use of Criminal Records

Abstract

Beyond Punishment provides a thought-provoking analysis of the negative legal consequences of criminal convictions that fall outside formal sentences imposed on individuals for their offenses. In many instances, these collateral legal consequences (“CLCs,” as Hoskins calls them for short) may have a longer and more damaging impact on a person than the sentence imposed in court. Yet questions regarding the moral justifiability of such provisions have received little attention from scholars. Hoskins’ book tackles this important topic—exploring the circumstances under which CLCs can be justified, as well as some of the practical implications that stem from the proliferation of CLCs in our society. Hoskins’ insights will be engaging to philosophers and legal scholars, and he offers critical guidance to policy makers and reform advocates. CLCs are restrictions or exclusions that federal, state, or local governments impose on individuals based on their criminal convictions. Examples include restrictions on voting, occupational licenses, public housing, and public assistance. CLCs are distinct from the many informal ways in which criminal convictions impede advancement in society—for example, discrimination by private employers, landlords, or educational institutions based on an applicant’s criminal record. Hoskins begins by considering whether CLCs should be treated as civil measures (as is the traditional approach) or as forms of punishment for the offense of conviction. The punishment/civil distinction matters to Hoskins, as his test for whether the measure is justified depends on its proper classification. Hoskins rejects an all-or-nothing view. Instead, he asserts that CLCs should be viewed as part of punishment in those instances when “they are intended to be burdensome and to communicate condemnation of the offender’s wrongdoing” (51). To be Sarah French Russell is Professor of Law, School of Law, Quinnipiac University School of Law, North Haven, USA. Email: sarah.russell@quinnipiac.edu Criminal Justice Ethics, 2021 Vol. 40, No. 2, 145–151, https://doi.org/10.1080/0731129X.2021.1948763