Expungement and Black's Behavior of Law

• In Event: Mitigating the Effect of Criminal Justice System Involvement

Abstract

According to previous research, as many as one third of adults in the United States have a criminal record. The collateral consequences of having a criminal record, whether one has been convicted of a crime or simply arrested, are often severe. Many jurisdictions allow certain criminal records to be expunged or sealed in order to mitigate these consequences. Previous research looks at these expungement policies through several different theoretical perspectives. Through an in-depth case study examination of several states’ expungement policies, this paper argues that Black’s behavior of law perspective is ideally suited to describe the form and function of expungement policies, as compared to other perspectives. Examining expungement policies through Black’s Behavior of Law perspective may also encourage policy makers to modify their policies to better promote the interests of multiple stakeholders in the criminal justice system.

Author

• Matthew Galasso, Michigan State University