SBA rolls back many criminal history barriers just before deadline

*UPDATE (7/7/20):  “SBA throws in the towel and Congress extends the PPP deadline” After Congress authorized hundreds of billions of dollars for small business relief during COVID-19, the Small Business Administration (SBA) imposed restrictions on applicants with an arrest or conviction history.  We have written much in recent weeks about how these barriers, neither required nor contemplated by Congress, impede access to the two major stimulus relief programs for small businesses, nonprofits, and independent contractors: the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. On June 12, the SBA eased some of the restrictions for PPP,…

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IRS blocks stimulus tax relief to people in prison; court orders relief

*Update (10/19/20): Per federal court orders, incarcerated individuals may now apply for stimulus payments.  The current deadline to apply is November 4, 2020.  More information is available at this link. In response to the public health and economic challenges of COVID-19, Congress in March 2020 enacted the CARES Act.  We have written at length about the Small Business Administration’s unfortunate and unauthorized disqualification of small business owners from Paycheck Protection and disaster relief because of their criminal record.  It turns out that the SBA is not the only federal agency discriminating against people with a record in carrying out the…

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CCRC in the Post: Protesting should not result in a lifelong record

CCRC’s Margaret Love and David Schlussel published an op-ed in the Washington Post on Monday: “Protesting should not result in a lifelong criminal record.”  The piece begins: Sparked by the killing of George Floyd on May 25, protesters across the country have been demonstrating against police violence and racism. As of June 4, the Associated Press tallied more than 10,000 arrests during and after protests, and the number has surely increased. Most of those arrested will almost certainly be released without charges or have their charges dropped. Others will face charges and may be convicted. Regardless of the outcome, the…

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SBA eases some criminal history barriers and faces litigation

*UPDATE (7/7/20):  “SBA throws in the towel and Congress extends the PPP deadline” After Congress authorized hundreds of billions of dollars for small business relief during COVID-19, the Small Business Administration (SBA) imposed restrictions on applicants with an arrest or conviction history.  We have written much in recent weeks about how these barriers, neither required nor contemplated by Congress, impede access to the two major relief programs for small businesses, nonprofits, and independent contractors: the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Following the introduction of a bipartisan Senate bill to roll back most of…

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How to expand expungement: base it in retribution instead of rehabilitation

A thoughtful new article by Brian Murray recommends a new way of conceptualizing expungement that should make it easier for reformers to justify facilitating access to this record relief.  In “Retributive Expungement,” forthcoming in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Murray argues that expungement should be seen as a way to end warranted punishment rather than to recognize and incentivize rehabilitation.  The argument goes that if the legal and social disadvantages of a criminal record function as part and parcel of the criminal sentence imposed by the court, as opposed to a loosely related system of civil penalties that are activated…

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