Collateral consequences are the unintended consequences of a judgment. When dealing with felony cases the collateral consequences can devestate a person's ability to function in society. This is what Judge Block refes to a "Civil Death". Collateral consequences are not considered to be punishment, but should be considered when sentencing the Defendant. A felony conviction can ruin a persons life who has otherwised lived a lawful life full of good deeds.
THE HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTIC OF THE DEFENDANT
A defendant’s charges should be considered in the context of her entire life. As stated in United States v. Adelson, 441 F. Supp. 2d 506 (S.D.N.Y. 2006), the importance of considering a defendant’s history reaches its pinnacle at the moment the sentence is to be imposed, as the court states:
"Surely, if ever a [person] is to receive credit for the good [s]he has done, and [her] immediate misconduct assessed in the context of [her] overall life hitherto, it should be at the moment of [her] sentencing, when [her] very future hangs in the balance. This elementary principle of weighing the good with the bad, which is basic to all the great religions, moral philosophies, and systems of justice…" Id.
COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES
Based On Judge Block’s Opinion In:
United States v. Chevelle Nesbeth, 15-CR-18 (2015 E.D.N.Y.)
After two decades of research and experience Judge Block wrote an opinion in the case of Chevelle Nesbeth stating that a sufficient amount of attention has not been paid to collateral consequences by both judges and lawyers, and should be fully considered when rendering a lawful sentence.
“The effects of these collateral consequences can be devastating. As professor Michelle Alexander has explained, ‘[m]yriad laws, rules, and regulations operate to discriminate against ex-offenders and effectively prevent their reintegration into the mainstream society and economy. These restrictions amount to a form of ‘civi[l] death’ and send the unequivocal message that ‘they’ are no longer part of ‘us.’”1 Id at 2.
Today “convicted felons now suffer restrictions in broad ranging aspects of life that touch upon economic, political, and social rights. Id at 6-7. A felony conviction today can effect job applications, rental agreements, loan applications, forms for welfare benefits, school applications, and petitions for licenses." Id at 7.
In one example Judge Block states the devastating and lifelong impact that a felony conviction can have on a defendant:
"My former colleague in the Eastern District of New York, Judge John Gleeson, recognized the devastating effects the collateral consequences of conviction had on a defendant who was unable to procure employment due to an offense she had committed seventeen years prior. He explained that he had sentenced the defendant “to five years of probation supervision, not to a lifetime of unemployment.”25 Judge Gleeson determined that district courts in the Second Circuit “have ancillary jurisdiction over applications for orders expunging convictions,” and expunged the defendant’s conviction." Id at 9.
