NCJ Number
108638
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 51 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1987) Pages: 52-60
Date Published
1987
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The study provides a systematic review of the civil rights and privileges that felony offenders relinquish after a conviction.
Abstract
The following rights are analyzed: voting, parenting, divorce, public employment, jury duty, holding public office, firearm ownership, criminal registration, and civil death. The status of these civil rights were analyzed in the 1986 legal codes for all 50 States and the District of Columbia. The authors analyzed statutes and case law and consulted with individual State attorneys general for clarification of ambiguities in State codes. Focusing on rights that are the most and least restricted, the study reveals that rights involving trust were the most commonly restricted. In comparison with the results of earlier studies, the data suggest that attaching restrictions on the civil rights of offenders is becoming less common. The authors also identify regions of the country that impose the most and least consequences for a felony conviction. 4 footnotes and 28 references.