Did you know that 70,000 people will return from state prison to their New Jersey communities over the next 5 years? For more facts about reentry in New Jersey,
download the fact sheet
[PDF: 135KB/1Page]
Civil Consequences of
Criminal Convictions in New Jersey:
Fact Sheets
Individuals leaving prison in New Jersey face many legal barriers to successful reintegration. To learn about specific restrictions in various areas, click on the links below.
The New Jersey Institute
For Social Justice, Inc.
IN THIS ISSUE
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ABA to Hold Public Hearing on Certificates of Rehabilitation in Brooklyn>>
- New Recidivism Study Finds Former Prisoners Unlikely to Re-Offend Following Initial Post-Release Period>>
- Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center Releases New Reports on Reentry>>
- ABA Launches Youth at Risk Initiative>>
- Rhode Island Ballot Initiative to Restore Voting Rights to Formerly Incarcerated Individuals>>
- California: Governor to Approve Measure that Would Jail Persons Who Violate Drug Treatment>>
- Update: Alabama Voting Rights Ruling Stayed>>
- Research Conference at the New School for Social Research: Punishment, the U.S. Record>>
ABA to Hold Public Hearing on Certificates of Rehabilitation in Brooklyn
On October 13, 2006, the American Bar Association Commission on Effective Criminal Sanctions will hold a public hearing in Brooklyn, New York on the subject of certificates of rehabilitation and other ways of obtaining relief from the collateral consequences of conviction. The hearing will be held at the New York Supreme Court, 320 Jay Street, from 8:30am until 2:30pm. A working meeting of the Commission will follow, which will also be open to the public.
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New Recidivism Study Finds Former Prisoners Unlikely to Re-Offend Following Initial Post-Release Period
A new study by two University of South Carolina criminologists, "Scarlet Letters and Recidivism: Does an Old Criminal Record Predict Future Offending?", found that released individuals who have stayed out of trouble for 6 years have a recidivism rate of less than 2 percent. The study analyzes previous studies and original data tracking offenders and non-offenders in Philadelphia since 1958. The authors recommend several policy changes, including expunging records for some offenders.
Read the Princeton University reaction essay and news coverage
Read further analysis of long-term recidivism rates and similar studies in Illinois and Florida
Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center Releases New Reports on Reentry
The Urban Institute has released four reports on reentry, including a research brief examining the experiences of returning prisoners in Cleveland, Ohio; a survey documenting the extent to which Weed and Seed sites are engaged in prisoner reentry initiatives; commentary on a recent evaluation of an evidence-based prisoner reentry program, Project Greenlight, in New York State; and a study of the challenges Maryland has faced in shifting resources away from prisons and into addiction treatment as the state seeks to transform its philosophy on how to deal with low-level drug offenders.
Download the Cleveland research brief
Download the Weed and Seed survey
Download the Project Greenlight evaluation commentary
ABA Launches Youth at Risk Initiative
The ABA has announced the launch of a new initiative intended to help youth at risk. Under the “Youth at Risk Initiative,” the ABA’s Commission on Youth and Risk will address a range of inter-related juvenile justice issues, including reentry mechanisms for meeting the needs of youth who age out of foster care or juvenile justice systems when they turn 18 or 19, finding more effective ways to serve juvenile “status offenders” and improving how different legal interventions affect youth crossing over from one category of systemic label, such as abused/neglected child, to another, such as delinquent child or status offender.
Click here for further information about the ABA's Youth at Risk Initiative
Rhode Island Ballot Initiative to Restore Voting Rights to Formerly Incarcerated Individuals
In November Rhode Island voters will decide whether to restore the right to vote for persons with felony convictions after they leave prison. If Rhode Island’s “Question 2” gains a majority, voting rights will be restored to those who are on probation or parole and Rhode Island would become the first state to restore the vote by way of an election. More than 21,000 residents of Rhode Island have lost their right to vote due to felony convictions; 82% of those persons are on probation or parole. In May, the RI State Senate approved the Rhode Island Restoration of Voting Rights Act, which, pending voter approval of the upcoming November ballot initiative, would require the Department of Corrections to initiate and streamline the restoration process.
Download Rhode Island Restoration of Voting Rights Act
California: Governor to Approve Measure that Would Jail Persons Who Violate Drug Treatment
Although Californians passed Proposition 36 in 2000, an initiative that requires treatment instead of prison for first- and second-time nonviolent drug offenses, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is likely to sign a bill that would authorize judges to jail individuals who violate conditions of their treatment programs. Those who test positive for drugs while in treatment or fail to attend their treatment programs could spend two to five days in jail. The legislation also includes a $31 million increase in funds, most of which will be directed towards treatment programs statewide.
Read AP and local newspaper coverage
Update: Alabama Voting Rights Ruling Stayed
A circuit judge agreed to delay much of his order allowing felons to vote in Alabama until after the November 7th general election and until the Alabama Supreme Court has a chance to review the issue. At the request of the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, Circuit Judge Robert Vance, Jr. agreed to stay much of his order, which held that felons could vote until the Legislature clarifies a law that bars voting by felons convicted of a crime of "moral turpitude." In his original ruling, in the case of Gooden v. Worley, Judge Vance, Jr. stated that “neither this Court nor any other court has the constitutional authority to decide whether an individual must surrender his right to vote,” and ordered registrars to cease enforcing disenfranchisement until the legislature defines which crimes are to be covered.
Research Conference at the New School for Social Research: Punishment, the U.S. Record
On November 30 and December 1, the New School for Social Research will host a conference on punishment in the United States. The discussion will examine the roots of American notions of punishment, the effects of current practices, and viable alternatives to incarceration. Participating experts include Stephen Bright, David Garland, Elizabeth Gaynes, Nancy Gertner, Moshe Halbertal, Bernard Harcourt, Marc Mauer, Lorna Rhodes, Jeremy Travis, and Bruce Western.
Download the invitation flyer for more information and to register