The Collateral Consequences Resource Center is a non-profit organization established in 2014 to promote public engagement with the myriad issues raised by the legal restrictions and societal stigma that burden people with a criminal record long after their criminal case is closed.  Situated at the intersection of the academic and advocacy communities, the Center provides a variety of research and practice materials aimed at legal and policy advocates, courts, scholars, lawmakers, and those most directly affected by criminal justice involvement.  It also provides news and commentary about this dynamic area of the law.

Through our Restoration of Rights Project (RRP) we describe and analyze the various laws and practices relating to criminal record relief in each U.S. jurisdiction.  In addition to these state-by-state profiles, a series of 50-state comparison charts and periodic reports on new enactments make it possible to see national patterns and emerging trends in official efforts to mitigate the adverse impact of a criminal record.

As an offshoot of the RRP work, we have begun consulting in support of state law reform efforts.  In 2020 we launched a project to study barriers to petition-based record clearing, which to date has resulted in several state-specific studies as well a 50-state survey of monetary barriers to record clearing.  Another 50-state survey of eligibility waiting periods is being prepared.  In 2021 we collaborated with the National Consumer Law Center on a study of monetary barriers to record clearing relief.  In 2019 we led a successful effort to develop a model law on access to and use of non-conviction records. In addition, we participate in court cases challenging specific collateral consequences, and engage with social media and journalists on these issues.

In 2021, we launched a project on “Fair Chance Lending” aimed at reducing criminal history restrictions in the lending policies of the U.S. Small Business Administration.  This project grew out of our research and advocacy around the restrictions imposed by the SBA on COVID-19 relief authorized by the CARES Act.

We welcome tips about relevant current developments—including judicial decisions and new legislation—as well as proposals for projects on topics related to collateral consequences and criminal records, and encourage submission of analytical pieces for posting on the CCRC website.  Contact us here.

 

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Board of Directors 

Bradley H. Blower – Brad is the Founder and Principal of Inclusive-Partners LLC which provides advice to both non-profits and for-profits on civil rights and financial inclusion. Brad’s wide-ranging experience includes working as General Counsel at the non-profits the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and Hope LoanPort, counsel at the civil rights law firm Relman Colfax, head of fair lending at American Express and as a senior attorney and manager working on civil rights and consumer protection at the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.

Gabriel “Jack” Chin – Jack is Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Legal Education at the UC Davis School of Law. Jack is a teacher and scholar of Immigration Law, Criminal Procedure, and Race and Law, and he is one of the nation’s leading academic authorities on collateral consequences.  He served as reporter for the Uniform Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act, and the ABA Standards on Collateral Sanctions and Discretionary Disqualification.    

Nora V. Demleitner – Nora is President of St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD. Prior to assuming that position in 2021, Nora was Roy L. Steinheimer Jr. Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University School of Law, and served as the Dean of W&L Law from 2012-2015.  She has been writing about collateral consequences for more than 20 years, and is particularly interested in how the U.S. compares to European countries where criminal records issues are concerned.    

Roberta “Toni” Meyers Douglas – As Vice President of State Strategy & Reentry at the Legal Action Center she directsthe National H.I.R.E. Network project and co-leads the No Health = No Justice campaign. Toni’s work prioritizes achieving racial equity in justice and health care. She works directly with policymakers and advocates nationally to improve employment and other opportunities for people with arrest and conviction records. She also provides technical assistance on the policies associated with LAC’s report, After Prison: Roadblocks to Reentry (2004/2009). 

Taja-Nia Henderson – Taja-Nia is Professor of Law at Rutgers University, and Dean of the Rutgers Graduate School-Newark. Her scholarship focuses on the historical impact of punishment regimes on property systems in the U.S. She is particularly interested in the legal histories of incarceration (including prisoner release and “reentry”) and chattel slavery.  She has written about the impact of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act on access to business capital by entrepreneurs with a criminal history. 

Margaret Colgate Love – Margaret co-founded CCRC in 2014, and has directed its work since that time. She created and regularly updates the Restoration of Rights Project (RRP) database of state restoration of rights mechanisms, and she has been writing articles and books about collateral consequences and criminal records issues for more than 20 years. A former U.S. Pardon Attorney (1990-1997), Margaret represents applicants for federal executive clemency in her private practice in Washington, D.C. 

JJ Prescott – JJ is Henry King Ransom Professor of Law and Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan. He is co-director of the Empirical Legal Studies Center, and co-director of the Program in Law and Economics. His research interests revolve around criminal law, sentencing law and reform, employment law, and the dynamics of civil litigation. His current projects include exploring the role of technology in improving access to justice and legal decision making; studying the consequences of criminal record expungement and record-clearing reform.

Kate Stith (Chair) –  Kate is the Lafayette S. Foster Professor of Law at Yale Law School, where her teaching and research focus on criminal law and structural constitutional law. She is the author of Defining Federal Crimes (2d ed., 2018, with D. Richman) and Fear of Judging (1998, with J. Cabranes) and many articles on criminal sentencing and related areas. Kate previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York.

Staff 

Margaret Love, Executive Director and Editor.