Sept. 1 Target Date for ABA “Collateral Consequences” Campaign Launch

By Chandra R. Thomas

Many young people are ignorant of the penalties that they could face for breaking the law. American Bar Association (ABA) leaders, however, think that even fewer are aware of how those same penalties could affect their lives well after they’ve fulfilled their debt to society. The effects – everything from suspended voting rights and limited job opportunities to an inability to qualify for public housing or financial aid for school – are considered the collateral consequences of their actions. Well beyond the juvenile years, those repercussions may forever reverberate throughout the lives of convicted young people. In an effort to thwart them from committing crimes and to prevent those who do from accepting risky plea deals, next month the ABA is officially launching a national educational campaign.

Collateral Consequences

The American Bar Association wants to show teenagers how minor crime can have big consequences that last a lifetime.  A new project will soon give children, families, attorneys and judges information about the collateral consequences of crimes and legal decisions.  Should a child take a plea or go to trial?  How will certain choices affect their prospects for staying in school, going to college or getting a job? The Collateral Consequences Project is creating a nationwide resource online that will spell out many of the consequences for children, based on the laws of each state.  Lawyers and researchers have been gathering information for more than a year.   By early fall, they expect to roll out a website with state-by-state sections, and printable files.   “The goal is to create a resource for public defenders, prosecutors, judges, children, parents and policy makers,” says Kate Richtman, chair of the ABA’s Juvenile Justice Committee. A key feature of the project will be cards called Think  About  It, that public defenders, court officers and non-profit programs can hand out.  The State Bar of Georgia plans to distribute Think About It cards to 8th graders in the public schools, because that’s when they learn about the justice system.  Deborah Craytor, Director of Law Related Education for the State Bar of Georgia says, “We want to put one in the hand of every child every year.”

The Collateral Consequences Project arose out of a discussion between Richtman, who is also Chief Juvenile Prosecutor in St. Paul, MN, and Christopher Gowen, Senior Staff Attorney at the ABA.