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What Collateral Consequences Are in the Database?

Date Published
February 26, 2013

Sidebar to the article Beyond the Sentence — Understanding Collateral Consequences by Sarah B. Berson.

Among the more common collateral consequences in the National Inventory of the Collateral Consequences of Conviction are those that involve denial of employment or occupational licensing and those that affect tangible benefits, such as education, housing, public benefits and property rights. Other consequences in the database include:

  • Ineligibility for government contracts and debarment from program participation
  • Exclusion from management and operation of regulated businesses
  • Restrictions on family relationships and living arrangements, such as child custody, fostering and adoption
  • Bond requirements and other heightened standards for licensure
  • Registration, lifetime supervision and residency requirements
  • Publication of an individual's criminal record or mandated notification to the general public or to particular private individuals
  • Collateral consequences arising from juvenile adjudications
  • Collateral consequences that derive from obligations of others (e.g., laws making a business license or government contract depend upon not employing anyone with a conviction)

The database also includes relief provisions by which collateral consequences may be avoided or mitigated.

To learn more about the database, including how criminal background checks, self-reporting disclosures and good moral character requirements were handled, see the User Guide (pdf, 20 pages).

About This Article

This artice appeared in NIJ Journal Issue 272, September 2013, as a sidebar to the article Beyond the Sentence — Understanding Collateral Consequences by Sarah B. Berson.

Date Published: February 26, 2013