Poster #249 - Variation in Formal Collateral Consequences of Conviction Across States and their Political Consequences

• In Event: ASC Poster Session II

Abstract

Across the United States, felony convictions come with legal collateral consequences that continue to affect an individual's life for years after incarceration. The American Bar Association has identified over 48,000 potential collateral consequences active in the United States. Existing research on collateral consequences has focused on formal effects such as restrictions on voting as well as informal effects such as exclusion and isolation. These collateral consequences have been shown to affect individuals’ relationship to their communities, families, sense of self, and more. Using a variety of sources, I map the severity of collateral consequences in each state, creating a visual representation of the states with the most severe collateral consequences. I focus on legal collateral consequences affecting political inclusion, welfare, employment, and familial rights. Using these severity scores as predictors, I also investigate the relationship between severity of collateral consequences and political factors such as election outcomes, voting rates, and more. Preliminary results show alignment between severity of consequences and republican leadership however not all political factors follow the same pattern.

Author

• Rebecca Shankman, The Ohio State University