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Abstract: Collateral
consequences, a term used in this paper to refer generally to the effect
of any measure that might increase the negative consequences of a criminal
conviction, fall roughly into three categories: impaired access to, or
enjoyment of, the ordinary rights and benefits associated with citizenship
or residency, such as voting or driving; impaired economic opportunity,
primarily through reduction of the range of available employment; and
increased severity of sanctions in any subsequent criminal proceeding
brought against the offender. These indirect but significant consequences
of a felony or misdemeanor conviction are receiving increasing attention
from policy makers, ethicists, and the bar. Setting aside issues of constitutional
or statutory rights, the growing web of civil disabilities triggered by
a criminal conviction raises fundamental questions about what makes sense
as a matter of public policy. This paper examines policy considerations
of collateral consequences and provides a preliminary effort to list all
of the provisions of Alaska state law that may diminish in some respect
the opportunities available to an individual with a criminal conviction
in his or her background. |
