Expungement appears to have all the signs of promising policy including better job and housing outcomes for individuals whose criminal records have been cleared; low recidivism rates; and subsequently better societal outcomes. Where it falls short, researchers in a Michigan study found, is with accessibility and uptake. This episode of “Proof Over Precedent” looks at the findings and dives into the challenges of studying expungement and the areas where the record-clearing process could be improved.
Read the corresponding blog post.
Speakers:
- J.J. Prescott, Henry King Ransom Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School; Co-director, Empirical Legal Studies Center; Co-director, Program in Law and Economics; Professor of Economics, University of Michigan
- Sonja B. Starr, Julius Kreeger Professor of Law & Criminology, The University of Chicago Law School
- Jim Greiner, Honorable S. William Green Professor of Public Law at Harvard Law School; Faculty Director of the Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School
Resources mentioned:
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Proof Over Precedent cover art by Courtney Chrystal