A federal judge in Brooklyn, issued an extraordinary opinion
that calls for courts to pay closer attention to
how felony convictions affect people’s lives, sentenced a woman in a drug case
to probation rather than prison, saying the collateral consequences she would
face as a felon were punishment enough, reported the New York Times.
The judge, Frederic Block of Federal District Court, said
such consequences served “no useful function other than to further punish
criminal defendants after they have completed their court-imposed sentences.”
The judge noted that there were nearly 50,000 federal and
state statutes and regulations that imposed penalties on felons.
Those penalties — denial of government benefits,
ineligibility for public housing, suspension of student loans, revocation or
suspension of driver’s licenses — can have devastating effects, he wrote,
adding that they may be “particularly disruptive to an ex-convict’s efforts at
rehabilitation and reintegration into society.”
The issue of collateral consequences has been considered by
other courts, but Judge Block’s 42-page
opinion, with his call for reform, appears to be one of the most detailed
examinations yet.
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