Dear John,

Today, we’re celebrating a win for our client Rudy Carey.

After his father passed away when he was 18, Rudy struggled with drug and alcohol abuse into his early 20s and served time in prison. When he was released in 2007, he entered rehab and turned his life around. And having reformed himself, he felt called to help others do the same as a substance abuse counselor. 

But the commonwealth of Virginia interrupted his aspirations by forcing the facility he worked at to fire him even after he’d won a counselor of the year award. Rudy turned to driving a truck instead of his chosen profession. 

An obscure and nonsensical regulation meant Rudy was permanently banned from working as a counselor because of his past mistakes. This law bans people with convictions for nearly 200 so-called “barrier crimes” from being employed in “direct-care” positions, which includes substance abuse counselors. Nearly all of these barrier crimes, which include things like recklessly driving a boat, have nothing to do with counseling. 

Rudy applied for a pardon five years ago, but the review process is a black box with no way to know when or if an applicant will ever be approved by the governor’s office. So Rudy joined with IJ to challenge Virginia’s blanket ban in court. Finally, after years of waiting and undoubtedly prompted by our lawsuit, Rudy got his pardon yesterday afternoon. Now, he is able to fulfill his dream of helping others through counseling. 

Rudy Carey is now free to help those struggling with addiction, as he once did. Click to watch his story.

But the fight isn’t over. Virginia’s law still bars hundreds of people from working in direct-care positions—even if their convictions are decades old and have no bearing on the person they are today or the job they want to pursue. We will continue to challenge this law, and other permanent punishment laws like it, to ensure that hard-working people like Rudy can make a true fresh start. 

For too long, collateral consequences have imposed a “civil death” on ex-offenders. Protecting their right to earn an honest living would go far in granting them a second chance in life—as it has for Rudy. 

Thank you for standing with us and with wonderful clients like Rudy.

Scott

Scott G. Bullock

President and Chief Counsel

Institute for Justice

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