![]() ![]() Judge Gleeson sees a constitutional dimension to the collateral consequences of conviction, and a corresponding obligation of sentencing courts to relieve them: Accordingly, I am issuing Doe a federal certificate of rehabilitation. She has worked diligently to obtain stable employment, albeit with only intermittent success. In the 12 years since she reentered society after serving her prison sentence, she has not been convicted of any other wrongdoing. Her conviction makes her no different than any other nursing applicant. I have reviewed her case in painstaking detail, and I can certify that Doe has been rehabilitated. That said, I had no intention to sentence her to the unending hardship she has endured in the job market. I conclude that while Doe has struggled considerably as a result of her conviction, her situation does not amount to the “extreme circumstances” that merit expungement. Judge Gleeson summarized his opinion as follows: There is no equivalent federal certificate. More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia issue certificates to certain ex-offenders who have shown their days of crime are behind them, usually by remaining offense-free for a long stretch. Joe Palazzolo at the Wall Street Journal blog noted that ![]() It does all of this in a manner that should make it hard for the government to appeal, since “this court-issued relief aligns with efforts the Justice Department, the President, and Congress are already undertaking to help people in Doe’s position shed the burden imposed by a record of conviction and move forward with their lives.” ( Jane Doe I has been calendared for argument on April 7.) The opinion also finds a role for federal probation to play, including under New York State’s “robust” certificate system, which lifts mandatory state law bars to employment and other opportunities. Along the way, it confirms that a district court may use its inherent equitable powers to expunge convictions in “extreme circumstances,” an issue now on appeal to the Second Circuit in Judge Gleeson’s earlier expungement case. The opinion breaks new ground in holding that federal courts have authority to mitigate the adverse effects of a criminal record short of complete expungement. District Judge John Gleeson issued a “certificate of rehabilitation” to a woman he had sentenced 13 years before. In his final week on the bench, in an opinion that may in time prove among his most influential, U.S. National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Conviction (NICCC).Relief from Sex Offense Registration Obligations.Criminal Record in Employment, Licensing & Housing.Expungement, Sealing & Other Record Relief.Loss & Restoration of Firearms Rights under Federal Law.Loss & Restoration of Civil/Firearms Rights. ![]()
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