Your weekly source for analysis and insight from experts at the Brennan Center for Justice

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The Briefing

We all know the American criminal justice system upholds and perpetuates economic inequality. But now we know how damaging it is in dollars and cents.

Conviction, Imprisonment, and Lost Earnings: How Involvement with the Criminal Justice System Deepens Inequality

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— by my colleagues Terry-Ann Craigie, Ames Grawert, and Cameron Kimble — shows how staggering the numbers are and how dire the consequences are to people’s lives. People who have spent time in prison see their subsequent annual earnings reduced by an average of 52 percent. Over a lifetime, these people lose an average of nearly $500,000 in earnings because of their incarceration. Even a misdemeanor has deep, lasting economic consequences — after conviction, people see their annual earnings reduced by an average of 16 percent.

People already living with disadvantages bear the brunt of these lost earnings, making it easy to see how the “justice” system entrenches poverty for them and their families. It’s a never-ending cycle, and, of course, the racial disparities are stark.

While white people who have a prison record see their earnings trend upwards over time, Black and Latino people experience a relatively flat earnings trajectory. (One of the report’s most striking findings is that a Black person with no conviction will earn less than a white person with a conviction when they come from the same class background.) The consequences are magnified throughout a lifetime of discrimination in employment and access to economic opportunity. And because Black and Latino people are overrepresented in the criminal justice system, these effects are concentrated in their communities and exacerbate the racial wealth gap.

There are a number of policy changes that could help stop conviction and incarceration from trapping people in poverty. But most importantly, we must end mass incarceration. It’s an economic imperative — and a moral one. Without doing so, we may never see an end to our country’s vicious cycle of racial and economic injustice.

Democracy

A Major Setback for Amendment 4

It was a stirring moment in 2018 when 64 percent of Florida voters passed Amendment 4, which ended the state’s felony disenfranchisement system, a direct legacy of Jim Crow. After a trial court victory that blocked the “pay to vote” law passed by the Florida Legislature, we had high hopes that the 1.4 million people with past felony convictions could at last exercise their right to vote. That was not to be.

A very disappointing ruling by the full 11th Circuit Court of Appeals last week overturned the trial court and let the egregious law stand, affecting more than half of all Floridians disenfranchised by a past conviction. Working with the ACLU, ACLU of Florida, NAACP LDF, and the law firm Paul, Weiss, we litigated this case at every stage. The ruling was truly misguided: not only could the state force citizens to pay, but it had no obligation to tell them what they owed. As a dissenting judge wrote, this “has all the certainty of counting jellybeans in a jar,” a notorious test used during segregation to disenfranchise Black voters. // Politico

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Courts Continue to Adapt to Covid-19

Though most federal and state courts initially closed their doors to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, many are now rapidly adapting their operations as they seek to establish a new normal. Several jurisdictions have resumed some version of in-person proceedings, and most states have allowed judges to resume eviction and foreclosure hearings. Still, at least 86 of the country’s 94 federal district courts and all of the federal appellate courts are opting to hold at least some of their hearings remotely. This analysis by Janna Adelstein looks at these changes and identifies how courts might continue to evolve. // Read More

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Voters Should Be Able to Return Absentee Ballots to Polling Places

Time is short to make needed changes to our election system so voters can have convenient and safe options for returning ballots received in the mail. One helpful change that has received less attention: allowing voters to return absentee ballots to a polling place, particularly at early voting sites. “Allowing voters to return their ballots at polling places would vastly expand the number of places for voters to return them without a need to acquire and install a great deal of equipment,” writes Raúl Macías. Also, he notes another upside: “returning ballots to polling places will avoid risks of postal service delays resulting in rejected ballots.” // Read More

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Constitution

Automatic License Plate Readers: Legal Status and Policy Recommendations for Law Enforcement Use

This summer, a Black family was arrested and held down on hot asphalt after an automatic license plate reader (ALPR) said their SUV was a stolen motorcycle from another state. The growing use of ALPRs means police can now receive alerts about a vehicle’s movements in real time and review past movements at the touch of a button. But like a lot of surveillance tools, ALPRs don’t always work, and computer errors can have real world consequences. This new report by Ángel Díaz and Rachel Levinson-Waldman analyzes the legal and policy landscape of this pervasive surveillance tool. // Read More

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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Surveillance System Will Outlast the Protest Movement

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who campaigned on police reform, recently announced expanded social media monitoring and created a “rapid response” team under the guise of addressing looting. This response likely won’t make Chicago safer. Instead, it will further entrench an unproven and discriminatory surveillance system that has long targeted the city’s Black and brown communities. “The surveillance system will outlast any protest movement, and will continue the pattern of treating communities of color as inherently suspicious,” writes Ángel Díaz. // Chicago Reporter

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Coming Up

VIRTUAL EVENT: Incarceration and Inequality

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Wednesday, September 16 | 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. EDT

The United States’ 400-year history of racial injustice continues to produce profound economic inequalities today. Join Wes Moore (New York Times bestselling author and CEO of Robin Hood) and experts from the Brennan Center’s Justice Program for a discussion on why ending mass incarceration is both a moral and economic imperative and a vital step toward closing the racial wealth gap.

This event is produced in partnership with Robin Hood, New York University’s John Brademas Center, and NYU Votes. RSVP today

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VIRTUAL EVENT: Transformative Criminal Justice Reform: Where Do We Go From Here?

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Friday, September 25 | 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. EDT

What’s next for criminal justice reform — and what will it take for the United States to truly grapple with its long history of racial injustice? Join Laura Arnold (cofounder of Arnold Ventures), Lauren-Brooke Eisen (director of the Brennan Center’s Justice Program), Rashad Robinson (president of Color of Change), Topeka K. Sam (founder and executive director of The Ladies of Hope Ministries), Bruce Western (Bryce Professor of Sociology and Social Justice and codirector of the Justice Lab at Columbia University), and Melissa Murray (professor at NYU School of Law) for a discussion about potential courses of action during a pivotal time — after months of renewed racial reckoning, amid a public health crisis that has disproportionately impacted Black and Latino Americans, and before a critical national election.

This event is produced in partnership with New York University’s John Brademas Center and NYU Votes. RSVP today

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News

Ángel Díaz on privacy concerns with the Citizen app’s contact tracing // CNET

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Michael German on links between white supremacists and law enforcement // Daily Kos

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Rachel Levinson-Waldman on police accountability in Chicago // Chicago Tribune

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Myrna Pérez on what not to expect on election night // Teen Vogue

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Michael Waldman on Trump’s threat to democracy

// The Guardian

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// LA Times

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Michael Waldman and Jennifer Weiss-Wolf on the Miami mayor’s rejection of the NBA’s polling site offer // Miami Herald

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Wendy Weiser on concerns over tossed ballots // NBC News

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Thomas Wolf on the lawsuit stop the Trump administration’s rushed census timeline // CBS News

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Have an issue you'd like us to cover? Feedback on this newsletter? Email us at [email protected]

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The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to reform, revitalize – and when necessary defend – our country’s systems of democracy and justice.

Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

120 Broadway, Suite 1750
New York, NY 10271
T 646 292 8310
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[email protected]

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