How Long Does a Felony Charge Stay on Record?
For anyone convicted of a felony, there can be no doubting the negative impacts on his life. Public attitudes have steadily hardened again, following brief periods of social permissiveness during the 1960s and 1970s. Today's convicted felon faces a raft of formidable obstacles, from finding stable employment and housing, to potentially permanent loss of gun ownership and voting rights. However, the biggest challenge lies in a permanent record, which can result in continual run-ins with the criminal justice system.
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Consequences
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Many other unpleasant consequences await convicted offenders that range far beyond the actual prison sentence. As felonyguide.com notes, 14 states permanently strip ex-convicts of voting rights, and 25 more ban them from holding public office. Felons can also be barred from federal employment, such as working for the U.S. Post Office. Certain sensitive private-sector jobs are also likely to be off limits, such as anything that requires caring for children, handling money, and full-time or substitute teaching.
Misconceptions
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The most common miconrception is that felonies "drop off" after a certain amount of time, like traffic tickets. In reality, felonies are forever, once they go into the computer. Records are likely to exist in multiple computers, from the local jurisdiction where the offender is sentenced, to the National Crime Information Center, the database maintained by the FBI. In some cases, related penalties are more of a punishment than the sentence itself--such as the 25-year and lifetime registration requirements that many states now impose on convicted sex offenders.
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Considerations
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One obvious way of avoiding a felony record is by having it plea bargained to a misdemeanor. This can result in county jail time, which carries a lower confinement period than serving comparable time in state prisons. Prosecutors regard plea bargains as a necessary evil to keep the court system functioning, so the weight of numbers--depending on the size of the jurisdiction--can often work in an offender's favor. For the cases that go to trial, an acquittal is the best scenario, though it does not prevent coverage of the initial charges, arrest and court appearances. Pardons do not remove a conviction, either, because they are treated legally as a gesture of forgiveness for offenses that still remain on public record.
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The most effective means of wiping felonies from a law enforcement agency's computer is through the process of expungement, or permanent seal of criminal records. In Minnesota, for example, former inmates must petition the court that sentenced them, a study by the Battered Women's Legal Advocacy Project notes. The judge reviews numerous factors, such as whether the offender was found not guilty--and kept a clean record for 10 years--or if they were juveniles sentenced for adult crimes. Even then, the study notes, the court can impose an additional test--whether the risk to public safety outweighs whatever progress the offender makes on release. A successful petition results in the records being sealed, placing them off-limits to potential employers.
Effects
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Critics argue that the sweeping penalties imposed on felons have created a permanent disenfranchised underclass--one vulnerable to lower-wage exploitation from employers who know they cannot be picky. In 2000, these debates colored the disputed presidential race. A sociologist's report noted that about 600,000 people were on probation or parole in Florida, the pivotal state, a March 2004 article published in the "New York Times" said. One in every four inmates were African-Americans who yet had to regain their civil rights--a practice that ended in 2007 for most offenses. However, inmates convicted of serious crimes, such as murder, must still petition the Florida Clemency Board to restore their rights.
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References
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- Photo Credit (Michael Peltier: skepticalbrotha.wordpress.com)
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Comments
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Your right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed! how can this government at a state or federal level enforce any laws that do?
