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Thursday, January 15, 2015
Notable new posts in the new year from the Collateral Consequences Resource Center
As regular readers know now, I am making a abit of noting here notable posts from the Collateral Consequences Resource Center because the topics covered there are so interesting and get so little attention in the mainstream media (or many other places in the blogoshere). Here are a bunch of new posts from CCRC that caught my eye from the first few weeks of 2015:
States "rethinking" collateral consequences? Vera Institute jumps the gun
European employment discrimination based on criminal record I – mandatory bars
European employment discrimination based on criminal record II – discretionary bars
The need to eliminate barriers to diversifying police departments
January 15, 2015 in Collateral consequences | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, January 06, 2015
Notable discussions of children as mass incarceration's "collateral damage"
The latest issue of The Nation includes this effective piece about the generational impact of incarceration headlined "Mass Incarceration's Collateral Damage: The Children Left Behind; When a parent is sent to prison, a child's life is derailed, leaving schools to pick up the pieces." Here is an excerpt:
A growing body of research suggests that one of the most pernicious effects of high adult-incarceration rates can be seen in the struggles of children ... who often lose a crucial source of motivation and support with their parents behind bars....
A very small subset of children — those with abusive parents — were found to be more likely to thrive academically and socially if their parents are incarcerated. But most children declined markedly. In fact, the new research suggests that prisoners' children may be the most enduring victims of our national incarceration craze. "Even for kids at high risk of problems, parental incarceration makes a bad situation worse," concluded Christopher Wildeman and Sara Wakefield in their recently published book, Children of the Prison Boom: Mass Incarceration and the Future of American Inequality.
Wildeman and Wakefield found that children with incarcerated fathers were three times more likely than peers from similar backgrounds to become homeless. They also suffered significantly higher rates of behavioral and mental-health problems, most notably aggression.
Kristin Turney, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine, reached similar conclusions in a report published this past September. Turney found that children with incarcerated parents were three times more likely to suffer from depression or behavioral problems than the average American child, and twice as likely to suffer from learning disabilities and anxiety....
Within the last few years, however, a broad range of agencies and policy-makers have begun to frame the nation's prison boom as a children's issue. Last summer, the Justice Department launched a wide-reaching campaign to provide support to the children of imprisoned parents — by rethinking visitation policies and changing the protocol for arresting parents in front of children, for example. In August, the American Bar Foundation and the National Science Foundation invited key researchers, advocates and federal officials to the White House for a conference to discuss reducing the "collateral costs" to children and communities when parents are incarcerated. The conference was part of a larger inter-agency initiative begun in 2012 to focus the attention of participating agencies, including the Department of Education, on the children of incarcerated parents. A few months later, in November, the Federal Bureau of Prisons hosted its first-ever Universal Children's Day, an event attended by nearly 8,500 children visiting more than 4,000 federal inmates....
John Hagan, a professor of sociology and law at Northwestern University, led the White House conference with his research collaborator, Holly Foster, of Texas A&M University. Fifteen years ago, in an oft-cited paper, Hagan first suggested that the effects on children might be "the least understood and most consequential" result of mass incarceration. Now Hagan is seeing his hypothesis proved. More than that, as his adolescent subjects enter adulthood, the effects are compounded: "Almost no children of incarcerated mothers make it through college," he noted. "These people are now in early adulthood, and they're really struggling."
I have long believed and asserted that politicians and policy advocates truly concerned about family values and children's interests should be deeply concerned about the over-use of incarceration as a punishment, especially for non-violent offenders. And I find fascinating and compelling the suggestion in this lengthy post at The Clemency Report titled "Children deserve legal standing when parents are sentenced." Here is how the potent post by Dennis Cauchon starts:
Are children entitled to legal standing when parents are sentenced in criminal cases? The current answer is "no." The answer should be "yes."
Today, the well-being of a defendant's children is close to irrelevant in criminal courtrooms. Institutional indifference to children is official policy. This is the most profound legal error in the last 35 years, the mistake that made mass imprisonment possible.
Criminal courts produce millions of orphans every year using procedures that weigh only the interests of adults in the courtroom. This is a profoundly ignorant way for a bureaucracy to act. Removing a mother or father from a child's life is a not mere "side effect"of the day's procedure; it is an "effect," often the most important thing that will happen that day.
Children deserve rights — legal rights, established in law — to end their mistreatment in criminal courts.
In domestic courts, the "best interest of the children" is the trump card standard that overrides almost all other adult needs in divorce and custody cases. In criminal courts, defendant's children are treated as trash in the back row. This difference is legally shameful and morally indefensible.
January 6, 2015 in Collateral consequences, Prisons and prisoners, Procedure and Proof at Sentencing, Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing, Scope of Imprisonment | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Friday, January 02, 2015
"Policing Public Order Without the Criminal Law"
The title of this post is the title of this intriguing new paper now available via SSRN authored by Charlie Gerstein and J.J. Prescott. Here is the abstract:
Millions of Americans every year are charged with and detained for "public order" offenses. These minor offenses are unusual in that the actual sentence violators receive when convicted — usually time already served in detention — is beside the point. Rather, public order offenses are "enforced" prior to any conviction by subjecting accused individuals to arrest, detention, and other legal process. These "process costs" are significant; in fact, they distort plea bargaining to the point that the substantive law behind the bargained-for conviction is largely irrelevant.
Maintaining public order is an important civic function, yet these unmoored cases have serious long-term consequences for defendants, their families, and our criminal justice institutions. Many scholars have argued that vague terms and broad standards in defining public order crimes results in broad discretion that leads to abuse.
In this essay, we argue instead that criminal law process costs essentially decouple statutory discretion from actual police behavior, rendering the debate about statutory language by and large moot. Abuse is better addressed by first recognizing that, in the context of public order crimes, discretion has little to do with substantive criminal law and that, instead, focus is much better placed on mitigating the harmful consequences discretion can generate and on limiting police discretion through other means. To this end, we propose providing the police with new civil enforcement tools that will be equally effective at preserving order but that will in all likelihood cause significantly less unnecessary harm.
January 2, 2015 in Collateral consequences, Criminal Sentences Alternatives, Offense Characteristics, Procedure and Proof at Sentencing, Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
More notable new posts from the Collateral Consequences Resource Center
Because topics covered at the Collateral Consequences Resource Center are so interesting and get little attention in the mainstream media (or many other places in the blogoshere), I plan to continue noting in this space all the the notable posts regularly appearing at CCRC. Here are a bunch more posts of notes from CCRC of as 2014 is winding down:
American criminal record exceptionalism (I): A Spanish comparison
December 31, 2014 in Clemency and Pardons, Collateral consequences, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
"Relief in Sight? States Rethink the Collateral Consequences of Criminal Conviction, 2009-2014"
The title of this post is the title of this notable new report from The Vera Institute of Justice. Here are excerpts from the report's summary:
Collateral consequences of criminal convictions are legion and present significant and often insurmountable barriers to housing, public benefits, employment, and even certain civil rights (e.g., voting rights) for people with criminal histories well after sentence completion.
Lessening the burden of post-punishment penalties has become a matter of significant bipartisan state-level legislative activity in recent years. In this report, Vera's Center on Sentencing and Corrections provides (1) concise summaries of representative legislation, (2) an analysis of the limitations of current reforms, and (3) recommendations for making future efforts sustainable and comprehensive.
Since 2009, forty-one states and the District of Columbia, enacted 155 pieces of legislation to mitigate collateral consequences for people with certain criminal convictions. In reviewing this legislative activity, Vera found that states have pursed one or a combination of seven broad approaches to reform. They created or expanded expungement and sealing remedies; issued certificates of recovery; allowed for offense downgrades; built relief into the criminal justice process; ameliorated employment-related collateral consequences; improved access to information; and addressed discrete collateral consequences.
While efforts to remove or alleviate the impact of collateral consequences may indicate a broader shift in how the criminal justice system views law-breakers, vast numbers of post-punishment penalties remain in place and a closer look at recent legislation suggests that efforts do not go far enough. In particular:
- Reforms are narrow in scope;
- Relief mechanisms are not easily accessible;
- Waiting periods are long in many cases; and
- New rules restricting third-party use of criminal history are difficult to enforce.
December 24, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Criminal Sentences Alternatives, Sentences Reconsidered, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Is US Rep. Grimm likely to advocate for federal sentencing reform following his felony plea?
The question in the title of this post is my first thought after reading this interesting Reuters story in the wake of a high-profile federal tax fraud plea entered today. The piece is headlined "U.S. Representative Grimm says will not resign after pleading guilty to tax fraud," and here are details:
U.S. Representative Michael Grimm of New York said he would not resign from Congress following his guilty plea on Tuesday to a federal felony tax charge. "As long as I'm able to serve, I'm going to," said Grimm, who noted he easily won a third term in November despite a 20-count federal indictment unveiled in April.
Grimm, a Republican, pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to aiding the preparation of a false tax return in connection with a health food restaurant, Healthalicious, that he co-owned before his political career. "While operating a restaurant, we underestimated the gross receipts and used some of the money to pay employees off the books and some other expenses," Grimm said in court.
As part of a plea deal, Grimm, whose trial had been scheduled for February, also signed a statement of facts, admitting to concealing over $900,000 in gross receipts from 2007 to 2010 and lying during a 2013 deposition....
A Boehner spokesman said he would not comment until he has discussed the issue with Grimm. Grimm told reporters he has had "private discussions" with leadership but would not elaborate.
The 44-year-old former Marine and FBI agent, who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn in New York City, faces a maximum of three years in prison when he is sentenced on June 8. His lawyers indicated they would seek a more lenient sentence.
Grimm told reporters he was accepting responsibility for a "mistake" that occurred before he joined Congress. "For the past four years, I've been a very effective, strong member of Congress," he said, adding that he had received many words of support from his constituents.
House members who plead guilty to a crime that carries two or more years in prison "should" refrain from voting on the floor or participating in committee business, according to House rules. The House could also vote to reprimand, censure or even expel Grimm, as it did in the case of Democratic Representative James Traficant, who was found guilty of taking bribes and other crimes in 2002 but refused to resign.
Prosecutors had accused Grimm of hiring illegal immigrants, paying staffers under the table and under-reporting how much he spent in wages. He was also charged with lying under oath about his practices while defending against a lawsuit brought by former Healthalicious employees.
The indictment grew out of a probe of Grimm's fundraising, morphing into one of the highest-profile prosecutions by the office of Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, who has since been nominated to become U.S. attorney general. Lynch in a statement said the plea made clear that U.S. authorities "will vigorously investigate and prosecute fraud wherever we find it, and that no one is above the law."
Given that the last three US Presidents have all admitted violating federal drug laws and have all been (reasonably?) accused of violating many more federal laws, I am moved by Rep Grimm's claims that his admission of violating federal tax laws in the past should not require him to give up his current job making new laws. Moreover, as the title of this post hints, I think there could be real value in having a member of Congress with personal experience with the federal criminal justice system as a defendant.
December 23, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Criminal Sentences Alternatives, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Another group of notable new posts at the Collateral Consequences Resource Center
I have noted before on this blog the notable posts appearing at the Collateral Consequences Resource Center, and here are a bunch more of recent vintage:
Wisconsin high court holds youthful offenders entitled to "a fresh start"
Indiana's new expungement law the product of "many, many compromises"
How risky is pardoning? Not as risky as committing uninformed journalism
December 20, 2014 in Collateral consequences | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Federal judge in sentencing proceeding(?!?!) declares Prez Obama's immigration order unconstitutional
As reported in this CNN piece, a federal district judge used a federal criminal case to render an opinion that President Obama's recent immigration execution action was unconstitutional. Here are the basic details of a peculiar decision:
A federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled Tuesday that President Barack Obama's move to halt deportations for millions of undocumented immigrants violates the Constitution -- but it's not clear that the ruling will have any immediate impact.
Pittsburgh-based U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab, a George W. Bush appointee, became the first judge to rule on the legality of Obama's executive overhaul of immigration rules when he issued his unusual opinion in a criminal case. The Justice Department shot back that the judge was "flatly wrong" and his ruling wouldn't halt the implementation of Obama's immigration policies.
The decision -- which came in a criminal case against Honduran immigrant Elionardo Juarez-Escobar, who'd been deported before, returned to the United States and faced charges of unlawful re-entry after a drunk driving arrest -- was unexpected, and is unrelated to the legal challenge dozens of states have launched against Obama's move.
Prosecutors in the case argued that Obama's immigration policies were only meant to apply to civil proceedings, and don't have any impact on criminal proceedings like what Juarez-Escobar faced. Still, Schwab said in his 38-page ruling that Juarez-Escobar could have benefited under Obama's action to halt deportations for some undocumented immigrants.
Obama's action violates the Constitution's separation of powers and its "take care clause," Schwab said. He wrote that Obama's action "goes beyond prosecutorial discretion because: (a) it provides for a systematic and rigid process by which a broad group of individuals will be treated differently than others based upon arbitrary classifications, rather than case-by-case examination; and (b) it allows undocumented immigrants, who fall within these broad categories, to obtain substantive rights."...
Schwab said Juarez-Escobar didn't fall within any of the priority categories Obama identified for deportation, so it's not clear that removing him from the country would be a priority -- potentially blurring the lines between civil and criminal proceedings. The Justice Department blasted the opinion, with a spokesperson saying it was "unfounded and the court had no basis to issue such an order."
The full 38-page opinion in this case is available at this link, and there are a number of interesting passages beyond the Court's constitutional analysis. Of particular note, Judge Schwab discusses at some length the Supreme Court's Padilla ruling and its emphasis on the connections between criminal convictions and deportation consequences.
Unsurprisingly, this ruling has already become the subject of some notable commentary. Here is some of the early commentary:
From Jonahan Adler here, "District court declares Obama immigration action unconstitutional (Updated)"
- From Josh Blackman here, "WDPA Finds DAPA Executive Action on Immigration Unconstitutional"
From Ilya Somin here, "A poorly reasoned federal district court opinion striking down Obama's executive order on immigration"
December 16, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Offender Characteristics, Offense Characteristics, Procedure and Proof at Sentencing | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Should problematic police be on a registry like sex offenders?
The provocative question in the title of this post is drawn from this provocative new commentary by Ed Krayewski at Reason titled "Time for a Police Offenders Registry." Here are excerpts:
There's a moral obligation to keep bad cops off the streets. A job with a police department is not a right and shouldn't be treated like one. Police unions that push for permissive rules that end up protecting bad cops pose a serious public safety threat. Nevertheless, dismantling them where they've taken root is a difficult prospect even in the long-term. There are other ways to keep bad cops off the streets. The federal government, and state governments, ought to create and encourage the use of a police offender registry list. Such a list would register individuals who while employed as law enforcement officers were found unfit for duty or faced serious disciplinary issues they may have resigned to avoid. Just as any other component of comprehensive police reform, this won't eliminate excessive police violence, but it's a start.
When actually identified, a surprising (or not) number of officers involved in controversial, high-profile use of force incidents have previously disciplinary history. Officer Daniel Pantaleo, the New York City cop who put Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold, had been previously accused, at least twice, of racially-motivated misconduct, including strip searching a man in the middle of the street and allegedly hitting his testicles. The police union in New York City is among the strongest in the country. When a rookie cop shot Akai Gurley in apparent panic last month, he didn't think twice to reportedly contact his union rep first. A man lay dying in a stairwell for no other reason that he startled a rookie, and the fact that the officer called his union representative before calling for assistance isn't shocking enough to lead to the officer's termination. Even if it were, it would still be impossible to terminate the officer immediately. While all this is happening, the state of New York is on the verge of placing even more of the disciplinary regime that applies to cops under the purview of the police unions.
But not everywhere is the situation as hopeless as in New York City. In other parts of the country, cops can get fired relatively more easily. But it doesn't stop them from finding jobs elsewhere. Richard Combs, who was the sheriff and only cop in Eutawville, South Carolina, is now facing a murder charge for shooting a resident after an argument at Town Hall, but Combs had been previously terminated from the county sheriff's office for unspecified "unsatisfactory performance." In Cleveland, Ohio, the cop who shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice, mistaking the boy's toy gun for a real one, had been previously found too emotionally unstable and unfit to carry a firearm for law enforcement. In Georgia, the cop who shot and killed 17-year-old Christopher Roupe after the teen opened the door to his home holding a Wii controller, had been previously fired for multiple disciplinary problems including shooting at an unarmed person....
This is just a sampling of stories that received enough local attention to gain some prominence. The situation is unconscionable. Police found unfit for duty in one jurisdiction shouldn't be employed in another. Cops who resign to avoid disciplinary charges shouldn't slither their way into another department. Cops who cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements shouldn't be able to expose taxpayers in other places to the same risk....
State governments, and the federal government, can help. Sex offender registries, which in some jurisdictions can lead to 19-year-olds who receive sexts from their 17-year-old friends being branded sexual predators for life, are an odious thing that makes a mockery of due process and the idea of the penal system as rehabilitation. But for some of the same reasons they would work to police the privilege of employment in law enforcement. Constitutionally, the federal government could not mandate states use its police offender registry list or operate their own. Yet because many of the most troublesome police departments (those in big cities and those in the sticks) also rely most on federal assistance in one way or another, the feds could induce compliance by tying it to such assistance. The federal government has done this before, though usually to push states to impose certain laws on its residents, not to protect residents from abusive government employees. Such a list wouldn't be a comprehensive solution to excessive police violence, but it's an important part, one that could work to lower the number of bad cops operating on the streets and begin to rebuild trust between police and the communities they're supposed to serve.
December 16, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Criminal Sentences Alternatives, Offender Characteristics, Offense Characteristics, Sex Offender Sentencing | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack
"Why Plea Bargains are Not Confessions"
The title of this post is the title of this interesting new paper by Brandon Garrett now available via SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Is a plea bargain a type of confession? Plea-bargaining is often justified as at its core a process involving in-court confession. The U.S. Supreme Court's early decisions approved plea bargains as something "more than a confession which admits that the accused did various acts."
I argue in this Article that plea bargains are not confessions — they do not even typically involve detailed admissions of guilt. The defendant generally admits to acts satisfying elements of the crime — a legally sufficient admission to be sure, but often not under oath, and often not supported by an extensive factual record. Because plea bargains typically contain only formulaic admissions, they have limited preclusive impact in future cases. The modern trend is to find issues not precluded by a guilty plea, except perhaps as to elements of the charged offense. The problem with the lack of adjudicated facts arises when other actors later seek to attach collateral consequences on that conviction.
More careful development of the factual record could help to prevent at least some guilty pleas by innocent defendants, but also important, it could produce reforms to more narrowly target the collateral consequences that now attach to entire categories of convictions. That is why I view it as particularly important to understand precisely why plea bargains are not "more than" and are in fact much less than confessions.
December 16, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Procedure and Proof at Sentencing | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Thursday, December 11, 2014
"As Though They Were Not Children: DNA Collection from Juveniles"
The title of this post is the title of this notable new paper by Kevin Lapp now available via SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Law enforcement craves data. Among the many forms of data currently collected by law enforcement, perhaps none is more potentially powerful than DNA profiles. DNA databasing helps law enforcement accurately and efficiently identify individuals and link them to unsolved crimes, and it can even exonerate the wrongfully convicted. So alluring is DNA collection that the practice has rapidly expanded to juveniles. The federal government and every state but Hawaii mandate DNA collection from juveniles as a result of some contact with the criminal justice system. A conviction in criminal court, a delinquency adjudication in juvenile court, and even a mere arrest can trigger compulsory DNA collection. Law enforcement also seeks DNA samples from juveniles based on their consent.
This Article provides a comprehensive accounting of current juvenile DNA collection legislation and case law. It then situates DNA collection from juveniles within the law's longstanding and renewed emphasis on special treatment of children both generally and with particular attention to criminal law and juvenile justice. Bringing to bear Supreme Court jurisprudence, neuroscientific and psychosocial research, juvenile court history, and the critical lens of childhood studies, it argues that DNA collection from juveniles based on contact with the criminal justice system is not reasonable and cannot withstand scrutiny. The government interests served by DNA profiling are reduced with respect to juveniles, and the privacy interests are enhanced. Many of its benefits, including deterrence, are lost with regard to juveniles. The Article calls for the prohibition on DNA collection following an adjudication of delinquency or an arrest, and a ban on consent collection from juveniles. This will protect children, and their childhood, while preserving law enforcement's ability to exploit genetic databasing and aggregate data collection where its rationale justifies its application.
December 11, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Offender Characteristics, Procedure and Proof at Sentencing, Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Tuesday, December 09, 2014
Lots more notable new posts at Collateral Consequences Resource Center
Last week I noted in this post all the notable posts appearing at the Collateral Consequences Resource Center. Just a week later, I see again that te CCRC has lots of new content on a bunch of issues not too often discussed in other like fora, such as these recent postings that seemed worth highlighting:
Federal agencies reportedly (mostly) satisfied with their collateral consequences
Collateral consequences and the curious case of Mark Wahlberg
Relief from sex offender registration and notification requirements
December 9, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Criminal Sentences Alternatives | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, December 03, 2014
New report from Center for American Progress examines barriers for those with criminal records
The Center for American Progress this week released this notable new report titled "One Strike and You're Out: How We Can Eliminate Barriers to Economic Security and Mobility for People with Criminal Records." Here is an excerpts from the report's introduction:
Between 70 million and 100 million Americans — or as many as one in three — have a criminal record. Many have only minor offenses, such as misdemeanors and nonserious infractions; others have only arrests without conviction. Nonetheless, because of the rise of technology and the ease of accessing data via the Internet — in conjunction with federal and state policy decisions—having even a minor criminal history now carries lifelong barriers that can block successful re-entry and participation in society. This has broad implications — not only for the millions of individuals who are prevented from moving on with their lives and becoming productive citizens but also for their families, communities, and the national economy.
Today, a criminal record serves as both a direct cause and consequence of poverty. It is a cause because having a criminal record can present obstacles to employment, housing, public assistance, education, family reunification, and more; convictions can result in monetary debts as well. It is a consequence due to the growing criminalization of poverty and homelessness. One recent study finds that our nation's poverty rate would have dropped by 20 percent between 1980 and 2004 if not for mass incarceration and the subsequent criminal records that haunt people for years after they have paid their debt to society....
Moreover, the challenges associated with having a criminal record come at great cost to the U.S. economy. Estimates put the cost of employment losses among people with criminal records at as much as $65 billion per year in terms of gross domestic product....
The lifelong consequences of having a criminal record — and the stigma that accompanies one — stand in stark contrast to research on "redemption" that documents that once an individual with a prior nonviolent conviction has stayed crime free for three to four years, that person's risk of recidivism is no different from the risk of arrest for the general population.
Put differently, people are treated as criminals long after they pose any significant risk of committing further crimes — making it difficult for many to move on with their lives and achieve basic economic security, let alone have a shot at upward mobility. The United States must therefore craft policies to ensure that Americans with criminal records have a fair shot at making a decent living, providing for their families, and joining the middle class. This will benefit not only the tens of millions of individuals who face closed doors due to a criminal record but also their families, their communities, and the economy as a whole....
This report offers a road map for the administration and federal agencies, Congress, states and localities, employers, and colleges and universities to ensure that a criminal record no longer presents an intractable barrier to economic security and mobility.
Bipartisan momentum for criminal justice reform is growing, due in part to the enormous costs of mass incarceration, as well as an increased focus on evidencebased approaches to public safety. Policymakers and opinion leaders of all political stripes are calling for sentencing and prison reform, as well as policies that give people a second chance. Now is the time to find common ground and enact meaningful solutions to ensure that a criminal record does not consign an individual to a life of poverty.
December 3, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Reentry and community supervision | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Some notable new postings at the Collateral Consequences Resource Center
Busy with end-of-semester activities at the end of a busy semester, I have not been able to keep up lately with my usual review of significant postings from the various websites and blogs linked in my sidebars. But I have still made sure to keep up a "new kid" on the cyber-block, the Collateral Consequences Resource Center, because it covers a bunch of issues not too often discussed in other like fora. And these recent postings seemed especially worth highlighting:
"Street Vendors, Taxicabs, and Exclusion Zones: The Impact of Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions at the Local Level"
The New Southern Strategy Coalition works on criminal records reform in the South
California's Proposition 47 and collateral consequences: Part II (reentry and restoration of rights)
Special interests succeed in watering down NJ Opportunity to Compete Act
December 3, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Criminal Sentences Alternatives, Reentry and community supervision | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Growing awareness of the limited efficacy of local sex offender residency restrictions
This new Wall Street Journal article highlights the new awareness of enduring problems with sex offender residency restrictions. The lengthy piece is headlined "Cities and Towns Scaling Back Limits on Sex Offenders: Officials Say Buffer Zones Don't Prevent Repeat Offenses and Make Predators Harder to Track," and here are excerpts:
When Palm Beach County, Fla., was sued earlier this year over its housing restrictions for registered sex offenders, its attorneys took an unusual approach: They suggested the county relax its law.
The county's commissioners — prompted largely by the lawsuit brought by a sex offender who claimed the limits rendered him homeless — voted in July to let such offenders legally live closer to schools, day-care centers and other places with concentrations of children. "We realized the law was costing the taxpayers money [for services for the homeless] and was causing more problems than it was solving," said county attorney Denise Nieman.
In the mid-1990s, states and cities began barring sex offenders from living within certain distances of schools, playgrounds and parks. The rationale: to prevent the horrible crimes sometimes committed by offenders after their release. In October, for instance, officials charged sex offender Darren Deon Vann with murdering two women in Indiana. Mr. Vann, who is suspected of killing several others, pleaded not guilty.
Now, a growing number of communities are rejecting or scaling back such limits — out of concern that they don't prevent repeat offenses, and, in some instances, may make sex offenders harder to track....
A 2013 Justice Department study that examined Michigan's and Missouri's statewide restrictions showed they "had little effect on recidivism." Other studies have found the vast majority of sex-offense cases involving children are committed not by strangers but by family members or others with established connections to the victims, such as coaches or teachers.
About 30 states and thousands of cities and towns have laws restricting where sex offenders can live, while others are adding them. In March, a 1,000-foot buffer from parks took effect in San Antonio. In July, Milwaukee passed a law banning sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a variety of places where children gather....
Critics, however, say such moves do little more than score lawmakers political points and give an area's residents a false sense of security. Some argue they can make communities less safe, by making it hard for offenders to find stable housing.
David Prater, district attorney of the county that encompasses Oklahoma City, said he and other state prosecutors have tried to get the state to relax its 2,000-foot buffer, to no avail. "No politician wants to be labeled the guy who lessens restrictions on sex offenders," he said....
Some smaller towns are chucking restrictions, partly in the name of public safety. De Pere, Wis., a town of 23,000 south of Green Bay, tossed out its 500-foot buffer last year after reviewing data on its effectiveness, said several council members. The issue was reopened by some townspeople several months ago ,when a convicted sex offender moved across the street from a school for children with special needs. But the council didn't budge. "You track where they live, you check in on them, but you let them live at home, where they're comfortable and stable," said Scott Crevier, a DePere city councilman. "I feel we're actually safer than a lot of other towns in the state that have them."
November 30, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Criminal Sentences Alternatives, Sex Offender Sentencing, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Sunday, November 23, 2014
"On Life Support: Public Health in the Age of Mass Incarceration"
The title of this post is the title of this notable new report from the Vera Institute of Justice as part of a new initiative called Justice Reform for Healthy Communities. A helpful report overview starts this way:
Each year, millions of incarcerated people — who experience chronic health conditions, infectious diseases, substance use, and mental illness at much higher rates than the general population — return home from correctional institutions to communities that are already rife with health disparities, violence, and poverty, among other structural inequities.
For several generations, high rates of incarceration among residents in these communities has further contributed to diminished educational opportunities, fractured family structures, stagnated economic mobility, limited housing options, and restricted access to essential social entitlements.
Several factors in today's policy climate indicate that the political discourse on crime and punishment is swinging away from the punitive, tough-on-crime values that dominated for decades, and that the time is ripe to fundamentally rethink the function of the criminal justice system in ways that can start to address the human toll that mass incarceration has had on communities.
At the same time, the nation's healthcare system is undergoing a historic overhaul due to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many provisions of the ACA provide tools needed to address long-standing health disparities. Among these are:
> Bolstering community capacity by expanding Medicaid eligiblity, expanding coverage and parity for behavioral health treatment, and reducing health disparities.
> Strengthening front-end alternatives to arrest, prosecution, and incarceration.
> Bridging health and justice systems by coordinating outreach and care, enrolling people in Medicaid and subsidized health plans across the criminal justice continuum, using Medicaid waivers and innovation funding to extend coverage to new groups, and advancing health information technology.
November 23, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Prisons and prisoners, Reentry and community supervision, Scope of Imprisonment | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Interesting look at California's Proposition 47 and undoing collateral consequences
I just noticed, over at the Collateral Consequences Resource Center, that California Federal Public Defender Jeffrey Aaron has this new posting exploring the impact of his state's approval of Proposition 47 which downgraded various felonies to misdemeanors. Here are excerpts:
Significantly, Proposition 47 applies not only to persons who are currently "serving a sentence," but also to those who have already fully served their sentences. This means that thousands of people with California felony convictions can under certain circumstances petition to have their case recalled, the crime re-designated a misdemeanor, and be resentenced. Once reduced to misdemeanors, qualifying crimes can be set aside under California Penal Code § 1203.4 (felony or misdemeanor cases sentenced to probation) or 1203.4a (misdemeanor cases sentenced to prison). These provisions allow a defendant to withdraw his plea of guilty, enter a not guilty plea, and have the judge dismiss the case. The record can then be expunged.
The importance of this retroactive effect of the new law cannot be over-estimated. While Proposition 47 gained popular support as a way of reducing California's prison population, its broadest and most significant long-term effect may be to reduce the impact of collateral consequences on people in the community. For criminal defense lawyers, Proposition 47 offers a significant way to reduce a client's exposure in subsequent prosecutions.
It is amazing that just a few months ago, a defendant with two prior felony drug possessions in state court, and currently charged with drug distribution in federal court, faced a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. Now he can have those California priors reduced to misdemeanors, and then dismissed, so that, under certain circumstances, they can no longer be used to enhance the federal sentence. Generally, convictions that are set-aside for reasons not involving innocence or errors of law will still result in criminal history points. Counsel might argue in resentencing that the reduction from felony to misdemeanor supports a finding that the conviction over-represents the defendant's criminal history....
The Proposition provides relief to anyone convicted in the past of a wide range of property and drug crimes, as long as the person does not have a "disqualifying prior." Disqualifying priors include offenses requiring sex offender registration, and specified violent offenses....
Simply by going to court to have their felony charges converted to misdemeanors, people can end up with a criminal record that looks very different, and has a very different effect.
November 22, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Sentences Reconsidered | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, November 20, 2014
"The Racist Origins of Felon Disenfranchisement"
The title of this post is the headline of this recent New York Times commentary by Brent Staples. Here are excerpts:
The state laws that barred nearly six million people with felony convictions from voting in the midterm elections this month date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Southern lawmakers were working feverishly to neutralize the black electorate. Poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses and cross burnings were effective weapons in this campaign. But statutes that allowed correctional systems to arbitrarily and permanently strip large numbers of people of the right to vote were a particularly potent tool in the campaign to undercut African-American political power.
This racially freighted system has normalized disenfranchisement in the United States — at a time when our peers in the democratic world rightly see it as an aberration. It has also stripped one in every 13 black persons of the right to vote — a rate four times that of nonblacks nationally. At the same time, it has allowed disenfranchisement to move beyond that black population — which makes up 38 percent of those denied the vote — into the body politic as a whole. One lesson here is that punishments designed for one pariah group can be easily expanded to include others as well....
Maine residents vigorously debated the issue last year, when the Legislature took up — and declined to pass — a bill that would have stripped the vote from some inmates, whose crimes included murder and other major felonies. Families of murder victims argued that the killers had denied their loved ones the right to vote and therefore should suffer the same fate.
Those who opposed the bill made several arguments: That the franchise is enshrined in the state Constitution and too important to withdraw on a whim; that voting rights keep inmates connected to civic life and make it easier for them to rejoin society; that the notion of restricting rights for people in prison was inconsistent with the values of the state.
A former United States marshal and police chief argued that revoking inmate voting rights would strip imprisoned people of dignity and make rehabilitation that much more difficult. The editorial page of The Bangor Daily News argued against revocation on the grounds that, "Removing the right of some inmates to exercise their legal responsibility as voters in a civilized society would undermine that civilized society."
The fact that most states view people who have served time in prison as beyond the protection of the bedrock, democratic principle of the right to vote shows how terribly short this country has fallen from achieving its ideals.
November 20, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing, Race, Class, and Gender, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Ninth Circuit upholds injunction, on First Amendment grounds, blocking California law requiring sex offenders to report report online activities
As reported in this Bloomberg story, "California can't enforce a law to combat sex trafficking because it tramples on free speech rights of sex offenders by requiring them to report online activities, such as their Twitter, e-mail and chatroom accounts, a U.S. appeals court ruled." Here are more of the ruling's basics via the press:
The San Francisco-based court today upheld a judge's decision to block enforcement of a voter-approved law that was backed by former Facebook Inc. (FB) executive Chris Kelly and garnered support from more than 80 percent of California voters in 2012.
The measure, known as Proposition 35, isn't clear about what accounts or Internet service providers offenders are required to report and targets online speech that could include blogging about politics and posting comments on news articles, the appeals court's three-judge panel said today.
The law also harms sex offenders' ability to engage in anonymous speech because it allegedly allows police to disclose their online identities to the public, the court said. Failure to report on Internet activity can lead to criminal sanctions.
A requirement that registered sex-offenders notify police within 24 hours of using a new Internet identity chills activity protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, U.S. Circuit Judge Jay S. Bybee wrote in the unanimous ruling.
The ruling in Doe v. Harris, No. 13-15263 (9th Cir. Nov. 18, 2014) (available here), officially gets started this way:
California law has long required registered sex offenders to report identifying information, such as their address and current photograph, to law enforcement. Cal. Penal Code §§ 290.012, 290.015. The Californians Against Sexual Exploitation ("CASE") Act sought to supplement and modernize these reporting obligations by requiring sex offenders to provide "[a] list of any and all Internet identifiers established or used by the person" and "[a] list of any and all Internet service providers used by the person." Id. § 290.015(a)(4)–(5). The Act also requires registered sex offenders to send written notice to law enforcement within 24 hours of adding or changing an Internet identifier or an account with an Internet service provider ("ISP"). Id. § 290.014(b).
Appellees Doe, Roe, and the nonprofit organization California Reform Sex Offender Laws filed a complaint alleging that the CASE Act infringes their freedom of speech in violation of the First Amendment. Appellees filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, which the district court granted. Kamala Harris, the Attorney General of California, and Intervenors, the proponents of the CASE Act, appeal. We hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion by enjoining the CASE Act. Accordingly, we affirm.
November 18, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Criminal Sentences Alternatives, Sentences Reconsidered, Sex Offender Sentencing, Technocorrections | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack
Wonderful new on-line resource, Collateral Consequences Resource Center, now available
I am very pleased to be able to report on a very important addition to the criminal justice on-line universe, the Collateral Consequences Resource Center. This posting by Margy Love provides this background and something of a mission statement:
The Collateral Consequences Resource Center website launches on Tuesday, November 18, 2014. We hope it will fill a growing need for information and advice about the modern phenomenon of mass conviction and the second-class citizenship it perpetuates.
The legal system is only beginning to confront the fact that an increasing number of Americans have a criminal record, and the status of being a convicted person has broad legal effects. The importance of collateral consequences to the criminal justice system is illustrated by cases like Padilla v. Kentucky (2010), holding that defense counsel have a Sixth Amendment obligation to advise clients about the possibility of deportation. Civil lawyers too are mounting successful constitutional challenges to harsh consequences like lifetime sex offender registration, categorical employment disqualification, and permanent firearms dispossession, which linger long after the court-imposed sentence has been served. Government officials have tended to regard collateral consequences primarily as a law enforcement problem involving the thousands leaving prison each year, but they are now considering how to deal with the lifetime of discrimination facing the millions who have long since left the justice system behind. Advocates are pointing out how counterproductive and unfair most mandatory collateral consequences are, and legislatures are paying attention. People with a record are organizing to promote change.
The time is right to launch the Collateral Consequences Resource Center, which will bring together in a single forum all of these diverse interests and issues. The Center's goal is to foster public discussion and disseminate information about what has been called the "secret sentence." Through its website the Center will provide news and commentary about developments in courts and legislatures, curate practice and advocacy resources, and provide information about how to obtain relief from collateral consequences in various jurisdictions. The Center aims to reach a broad audience of lawyers and other criminal justice practitioners, judges, scholars, researchers, policymakers, legislators, as well as those most directly affected by the consequences of conviction. It invites tips about relevant current developments, as well as proposals for blog posts on topics related to collateral consequences and criminal records: email@example.com.
Impressively, this new web resource (which I guess I will call CCRC) has a ton of terrific content already assembled at webpages dedicated to State-Specific Resources, Books and Articles, and Reports and Studies. And here are links to a few recent notable blog postings:
- More states rely on judicial expungement to avoid collateral consequences
- Minnesota project examines how different life would be with a criminal record
- Dismissed Charges Not Always the Best Outcome?
November 18, 2014 in Collateral consequences, Criminal Sentences Alternatives, Procedure and Proof at Sentencing, Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack


text:
It was only a matter of time before a case of Ebola virus was diagnosed in the United States. It just so happens to be at the hospital that I practice in which is also directly across the street from my office. I can already tell you that there is a lot of concern from our patient families as well as from friends who were at the hospital today including my daughter in law. Concern is one word, but hysteria and misinformation are also words that come to mind.
When I first heard the news I too was skeptical that the person admitted to Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas would actually have Ebola virus. We have been on the "alert" for enterovirus D-68, which has also been making headlines, but Ebola was not on my "radar:. The moment that the CDC announced that the patient had indeed tested positive for Ebola virus, the news helicopters started circling above the office (not quite a many as there were for George Clooney's wedding), but a considerable number (and noisy!).
I have fielded emails, texts and phones calls beginning this afternoon and into the night from concerned parents. The first thing to know is that Ebola virus is not transmitted as a respiratory pathogen like flu, or a cold or even enterovirus. (My daughter in law did not have a mask on as she went to her appointment this morning and she too was a bit concerned until we spoke).
The Ebola virus is transmitted when you come into contact with body fluids like saliva, blood, urines, or feces from the patient and then can enter your body through micro-abrasions or cuts. It is not a virus that you will catch if you walked by the patient or passed the patient in the hallway or the airport. Again, you must come into contact with body fluids to catch this virus.
This patient is in strict isolation within the hospital which means only certain medical personnel will even be in contact with him. The area that I practice in and the babies that we see in that hospital are in no risk for exposure to the virus. There are always infection control procedures within the hospital and they will continue to be followed.
So, there is no reason to panic. I am not afraid or concerned about continuing to work within the hospital. We will continue our regular days in the office and reassure families that they are not at risk. We pediatricians are still more concerned about airborne viruses such as RSV and flu that will cause considerable illness, and will soon begin circulating. Get your flu vaccines, wash your hands, get enough sleep, exercise and continue to have healthy family meals. Remember, keep your child ( or yourself) home from day care or school if they have a fever. This is still the best prescription to stay healthy.
Moms and dads...you have an exercise plan but what about your kids? Your child's heart health is important too! Heart health is based on genetics, diet and lastly exercise. (For adults and my teen patients as well, need to add smoking and drinking to the discussion).
While I start talking about healthy eating during infancy the discussion about exercise comes a bit later. If you have a toddler you know they "exercise".....all day long, and never stop except to sleep! But as our children get older, once again it is up to the parents to model behavior, including exercise.
I regularly ask, "how much time does your child play outside?" (I know it is much harder in winter months), "what does your child do for exercise outside of school?" and "do you exercise as a family?'". Once a child is older, say 5 or so, I include them in the questioning as well as they are a wealth of information. I ask them "if they ride a bike"....they love to tell me about taking off their training wheels. Then I ask "who they ride with and where do they go?". I also ask about bike helmets, you would be amazed at how many children tell me that they wear a helmet, but their parents don't! (HINT HINT to parents).
I find that most children under the age of 10 or so do get a fair amount of exercise, but as they get older many have stopped playing sports outside of school and have chosen to spend more time being sedentary. They are not just watching TV, but have found other interests like music, art, drama, chess and even computer programming. All of that is great, but children still need exercise and many schools have cut PE programs especially once you get to middle school and high school. This means that parents once again may have to encourage exercise, for the whole family. Walking the dog, family bike rides, tennis matches, front yard kickball or badminton. Get the family exercising together....they may not even realize.
The hardest group I have to encourage to exercise are my teens who are just not athletes (I can sympathize). We all have our talents, but for some sports are not it. I find myself asking my teenage patients, how much exercise they get and so many say, "None". Many say, "walking between classes" is all of their exercise, and the idea of walking to school is long gone for most. Many of my teens start to gain weight after puberty and have to be reminded that we all stop growing....so you can't keep gaining weight. Exercise has to be done on a regular basis...again it is about lifestyle.
So, heart health and exercise should be a focus for families year round, see if you can get your family moving as we head into spring!
I received these nice pictures and a question via email the other day. The mother was concerned as she had found this "spot" on her 6 year old son's back. He was otherwise well and she did not see any other "spots" or rash.
Her son complained that the "spot" was itchy so being the good mother she applied some over the counter cortisone cream for several days (which I always tell patients to try). After 2 days of it not improving, but not worsening, she thought it might be ringworm (also a good thought) and she applied an OTC anti-fungal cream. Again, the rash was not better, but really not worsening or spreading. That is an important part of the history.
Now in medicine you learn about red herrings, which are part of a patient's history that may not really have any bearing to their current problem....but one has to consider it. In this case, her dog developed a lesion and was taken to the vet and was diagnosed with a staph infection, but the vet told the mom that the dog was not contagious to humans. Red herring or is that the problem?
After looking at all of the pictures (which is never as good as seeing a rash in person), I am thinking that this may be nummular eczema, (nummular means coin shaped, hence the round) The history is right as is was not bothersome other than being itchy, and eczema is often called the "itch that scratches".
With all of this cold dry weather and heaters on full blast all over the country eczema is having a heyday. I have seen a ton of these little inflamed patches on skin of all ages (my own hands are a mess). The treatment of choice is to moisturize the skin and also the use of a topical steroid. But, it takes a long time to see an improvement in the spots and they may change on a daily basis depending on the weather, bathing and how much lubrication and moisturizing you are doing.
I would use an OTC moisturizer that contains ceramides (Cetaphil Restoraderm, Cerave, Aveeno for eczema) and use it liberally and frequently. I would also apply an OTC steroid several times a day (under the moisturizer). Eczema also sometimes requires a stronger topical steroid that is prescription.
Hope that helps.....but if not improving after 7-10 days it may be worth a visit to your pedi for up close and personal diagnosis.
Does your child eat three meals a day with healthy snacks along the way? I often find myself talking to parents about establishing healthy eating habits especially when you have a preschooler. Preschool children, specifically the two to five-year-old set are notoriously picky eaters, and parents need to recognize that this is developmentally appropriate, although frustrating for parents.
This is an appropriate time to begin teaching children the importance of healthy eating habits to encourage a lifetime of good health and prevent obesity. A good place to start to get information is "MyPyramid for Preschoolers", a website sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This website not only covers what your children should be eating, but also is full of good advice on handling picky eaters, how to monitor your child's growth and ideas to encourage physical activity.
The website encourages parents to lead by example and let your children see you eating a wide array of foods including fruits, vegetables, and whole grains throughout the day. There are ideas for healthy snacks that can be eaten on the run, as you get back into carpools and after school activities. Even the toddler set is busy after school!
Remember: do not let food choices become a battle or an issue. Do not make negative food comments around your children, and keep trying new things. It may take up to 20 attempts or more before your child will try something new, but if you don't keep trying you will never know if they might really like broccoli.
Also, no "yucky faces" for the adults and older children while at the table and eating their meal. That will only discourage your toddler from trying unfamiliar foods. Put on that happy face, even if it is not your favorite food, it might be your child's.
The most important message is to make mealtime and snack time pleasant and healthy. Even a toddler can help with planning and preparing a meal. This website is really quite good and interactive as you can enter your child's first name, age, gender and typical amount of activity and the site will generate a plan just for your child! Can't be easier than that.
That's your daily dose, we'll chat again tomorrow.
I get asked the questions a lot "At what age can I leave my child home alone?" There is no simple answer but a progressibe one.
I tend to think most children are ready to spend 20-30 minutes alone at home between the ages of 10-11, but every child is different. It depends on a number of things including how your child feels about being alone, the length of time, and if you and your child have discussed how to handle emergencies and getting a hold of you or a neighbor in case there is an emergency or even just a question that needs to be answered.
Well, this topic brought up an interesting question, what do you do when you leave your child alone and there is not a home phone? I have never even given that a thought as I am "old school" and still have that landline in my house. It just gives me a "good feeling" to know that it is there, even if it rarely rings. (although the kids know to call the home number as I typically turn off the cell as soon as I hit the door from work).
More and more families have given up a home phone and I think this brings up so many different topics for discussion, but for starts how does your child call you when you leave them alone? Or how do they call the trusty neighbor if they need something. Do you get them a cell phone? Do you have to have an extra cell phone to have at home? It seems to me that a home phone is important for just that reason. In case of an emergency, your child can pick up the phone and call for help, assistance or just a friendly voice. I don't think they need a cell phone!
Also, landlines are relatively inexpensive. Cell phones for 8,10, 11 year olds? Sounds inappropriate and expensive. Wouldn't it be easier to keep a home phone so children can learn to answer a phone, use good phone manners, and when you are ready to let them stay at home by themselves for a few minutes, there is always a phone available. I don't know, just seems easy solution to me.
What do you think? I would love to hear from you!
You know how often I have written about carseat safety and the latest guidelines for car seat usage......well, it is National Child Passenger Safety Week and a new study confirms what I have seen in my own practice, a lot of parents are not always taking the time to buckle up their children in car seats and booster seats.
An online survey funded in part by the General Motors Foundation, polled over 1,000 parents and caregivers of children under the age of 10. They were asked about the use of car seats and booster seats for their children. One in four parents admitted to having driven their child without using a car seat or booster seat. Many of the parents were described as being "affluent, highly educated and young". Men were also more likely to break the "buckle up rule" than women.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death to children. Statistics from previous years show that about 1/3 of children killed in car accidents were not using a car seat, booster seat, or a seat belt. There is NO reason for this, and children need to be buckled up, "every time on every ride".
I have heard many excuses from parents about the "hassle" of using a rear facing car seat until the age of 2 years. Some of the comments have been, "it is just too hot in Texas to rear face the car seat", " I think she is bored facing backwards and prefers to forward face", "the DVD player is not visible when they are rear facing". All true comments, and I just am amazed by my own patients who are well educated, caring and concerned parents.
The same comments have been made about booster seats, "I think he feels awkward going to school in a booster seat", "we were not going very far so we just use the seat belt, rather than the booster, when close to home", "no one else at our school uses a booster". Peer pressure at this age?
Other comments about seat belt safety I have heard? Parent's tell me that, "the booster seat won't fit in the Porsche, so they buckle up their 7 year old in the front seat, when driving with Dad". "She throws a fit about riding in the backseat and fights with her sister so we let the 9 year old ride in front". The list goes on and on. I personally wish that we could not have had children in the front seat when my boys were young as they always "called shotgun" and fought to get to the front seat, which led to several fingers caught in the car door, and many tears. Would have embraced the no front seat until 13 year law!
Lastly, parents need to follow the rules as well. Our kids are watching what we do and they will become drivers one day. The biggest admonition to teens is "Always buckle up" and "Don't text or talk on cell phone when driving". Teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use of all age groups, so they need to see their parents following rules.
September 21 is National Seat Check Saturday, and Safe Kids will be hosting more than 500 child seat inspections across the country. If you have questions about your car seat or booster seat look at www.safekids.org to find a location near you. Buckle up, do it correctly, and don't CHEAT!
Is it hot enough for you? Summer is here for a bit! Winter viruses are a distant memory (good bye flu and RSV), summer viruses which have been laying dormant are once again rearing their angry heads.
My office has been overflowing with really hot feverish kids of all ages. I think the most likely culprit for much of the illness we are seeing right now is an enteroviral infection. For some reason, it makes us parents feel better if we can "name that virus", seems to help validate the illness.
Enteroviral infections typically cause a non-specific febrile illness and with that you can see fairly high fever. In other words, just like the thermometer as summer heat arrives , 101-104 degrees of fever is not uncommon in these patients. Remember the mantra, "fever is our friend". I think it is almost worse to have a high fever in the summer as you are even more uncomfortable because it is already hot!
With that being said, if your child has a fever, don't bundle them up with layers of clothes and blankets. It is perfectly acceptable to have your younger child in a diaper and t-shirt, and older children can be in sundress or shorts rather than long sleeves and pants. Bundling may increase the body temperature, even while you are driving to the doctor's office. I often come into a room with a precious baby who is running a fever and they are wrapped in blankets, let them out! That hot body needs to breathe.
These summer enteroviruses may cause other symptoms as well as fever, so many kids right now seem to have sore throats and are also vomiting and having diarrhea. With this type of virus you also hear complaints of headaches and body aches (myalgias). The kids I am seeing don't look especially sick, but they do feel pretty yucky! Just kind of wiped out, especially when their temps are up.
Besides treating their fevers, treat their other symptoms to make them comfortable. If they are vomiting do not give them anything to eat and start giving them frequent sips of liquids such as Pedialyte (for the younger ones) and Gatorade or even Sprite or Ginger Ale. Small volumes are the key.
I often use pieces of Popsicle or spoonfuls of a Slurpee to get fluids in kids. I always tried to pick drink colors for my own kids that were easier to clean up, in case they were going to vomit again, so no bright red! The cold fluids may also help to soothe a sore throat. Once the vomiting has stopped, and it is usually no more than 12-24 hours, you can start feeding small amounts of food, but I would steer away from any dairy for a day or two. Again, nothing worse than thinking your child is over vomiting, fixing them I nice milkshake (comfort food) and seeing that thrown up! Many a mother has come into my office wanting to strip after being vomited on, in a hot car no less. I don't think there is a car wash around that can fully get rid of that smell!
Most enteroviral infection last anywhere from 2-5 days. There are many different enteroviruses too, so you can get more than one infection during the season. This is not just a virus you see in children, so watch out parents you may succumb as well. Keep up good hand washing and your child should stay home from school, the pool, camp, day care etc. until they have been fever free for 24 hours.
That's your daily dose for today. We'll chat again tomorrow.
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't find myself talking to a patient or a parent about anxiety. I see patients as young as 4 years old who are "anxious" about sleep, school or after school activities. I also see plenty of high school students with the same concerns. It doesn't seem to be getting any better either, as I think more and more of my patients visits are often related to stress and anxiety rather than to strep throat or an ear infection.
This begs two questions: How did stress and anxiety become so prevalent and how do we change it?
If I knew the answers to that I could write a best seller!! But I do think I have some ideas. Some of the stress and anxiety that our children feel at an early age may have some roots in genetics. Anxiety seems to have a genetic predisposition but is it all inborn? Can you change some of a child's early reactions to situations by the way a parent reacts? I think that the answer is yes.
Very young children pick up on parental cues. For example, I had a young mother who recently came in and was worried because her 14 month old son was being "pushed" in play group and he would sometimes even fall down. She was tearful while she was talking about this and at the same time she was guarding his every move in the exam room. No falling in here!
I asked if the other mother's were appropriately talking to their toddlers who had done the pushing and she said they had, but it was just "too much to bear". She was not going to go to play group (they might not invite her back) if he was going to get pushed. I could feel her anxiety flowing to her newly walking son.
Another patient recently brought her child in due to recurrent stomach aches. After getting a good history and talking about the tummy aches with the child directly, it seemed as if they might be due to stress and anxiety. The mother then began to talk about her own stomach aches and how debilitating they were for her and all of the tests that she thought should be run. This conversation was in a bit too much detail for an 8 year old to hear. After a minute or so the little boy said, "I think my tummy aches feel better when I talk about them to my feelings doctor". Hmmm....wish the Mom would have let me know that bit of information earlier. Mother's anxiety being passed to child?
So.... when appropriate try to "down play" the falls or tummy aches of child hood. Lot's or reassurance that "it will be okay, or let me kiss it and make it better" often works wonders.
Over the last several months I have had a lot of patients (especially those that are old enough to talk) ask me about the new needless jet injectors for vaccinations. Of course anything that says "no needle" and "painless" has a lot of appeal for both doctor and patients, especially in pediatrics. Our practice has not decided whether to try out the new jet injectors and we are still giving the standard shots, not always with smiling patients. How do jet injectors actually work? By using a thin high pressure of liquid to penetrate the skin with the vaccine.
Well, now that it is flu vaccine season, there has been a lot of advertising about needless injections for flu vaccine. Many drug stores and/or grocery stores had advertised that you could get your flu vaccine, "pain free". Sounds great, right?
Not so fast, the FDA recently announced that "all vaccines including flu vaccine be administered in accordance with their labeling." This means that flu vaccine has not been studied when given by the new jet injectors. The FDA also stated that there "was no data to show the safety or efficacy of flu vaccine or other vaccines given by injectors". The only vaccine that has currently been approved to be given by the jet injectors is the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine.
The flu vaccine may be given by the traditional method with a needle, or as a nasal mist (for use in children 2 years of age and older). Most of our patients opt for a "flu mist" if they can talk and sniff. It is amazing that there are several children who really do prefer a shot, and they tell me that they would "never" sniff something up their nose. Different strokes for different children.
But in the meantime, I am not jumping on the jet injector bandwagon. The FDA is now stating that each vaccine needs to be evaluated for both safety and efficacy when given by a jet injector. I am sure that those studies will be forthcoming.
In the meantime, RUN to get your flu vaccine, it is time to get vaccinated as sick season is starting and who wants the flu!
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
UK: Marston's launches rights issue for acquisitions
By just-drinks.com editorial team | 18 June 2009
Marston's, the UK brewer and pub owner, plans to raise GBP176m (US$288m) via a share rights issue in order to expand its pub network by taking advantage of lower land and property prices.
Marston's said today (18 June) that it will use GBP140m of the funding to "acquire and develop new pubs over the short and medium-term".
The group plans to issue nearly 300m new shares at a discounted price of GBP0.59 per share. Marston's closed on the London stock exchange yesterday (17 June) at GBP1.40 per ordinary share.
"The current market environment represents a rare opportunity to secure excellent sites on attractive terms," said Marston's CEO Ralph Findlay.
He added that Marston's, which already has more than 2,200 managed and tenanted pubs, plans to build new pubs rather than acquire existing ones.
"The roll-out of new build pubs can generate higher returns at lower risk than acquiring mixed packages of existing pubs and is important to our long term strategy to drive shareholder value."
Marston's plan is similar to a rights issue announced by rival Greene King recently.
The remainder of the rights issue funds will be used to pay down company debt, Marston's said. The issue is subject to approval by shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting to be held on 6 July.
Sectors: Beer & cider
Companies: Greene King
UK: Greene King buys back debt
Greene King, the UK ale brewer and pub operator, has repurchased GBP7m (US$11.7m) of company debt....
UK: Greene King in Belhaven brewery pledge
Greene King has pledged to maintain brewing at the Belhaven Dunbar brewery in Scotland, after the group announced it would cut jobs at the site by moving bottling operations to southern England....
UK: Greene King brews up sales rise
Greene King, the UK brewer and pub owner, has reported an increase in beer sales for the first 17 weeks of its fiscal year, despite a shrinking UK market....
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Market research
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Mon-Fri: 7am-1am EST / Sat-Sun: 7am-11pm EST
ApplianceWhirlpool Dryer
Level of DifficultyEasy
Time to do repairLess than 15 mins
Age of Appliance5 - 10 years
Screw drivers
Replaced the heating element, simple enough. Hardest part was getting the solid metal exhaust pipe back on and through wall!
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Will the English Heritage spin out prove a success?
11 May 2015
David Ainsworth assesses the rationale behind the transfer of English Heritage into the charity sector....
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Rachel Mathieson advises a trustee on the rules about campaigning to influence public debate.
Sally Taylor, chair of streetwise Opera, describes her big governance issue.
It is relatively common for the status to be questioned of people who are not appointed as trustees but who act as if they are trustees. In this sad story it was the reverse.
Chris Simpkins, director general of the Royal British Legion, and Jane Hinnrichs, Chair of Breast Cancer Care, advise on how to ease boardroom tensions.
There are new rules coming into force affecting the audit and examination of the annual accounts.
Good advice, but there is an important point to add: merger is rarely a proper answer to impending insolvency.
Anne-Marie Piper of Farrer & Co LLP examines the things trustees thinking about trading need to know.
In this article, Paul Gibson looks at money laundering and how a charity could be mis-used. In the next issue of governance, Paul will show how a charity can develop an anti-money laundering policy.
A summary from the Charity Commission of liability and the legal relationship charity trustees have with regards to it.
The best way to avoid a Charity Commission inquiry is to follow good practice, says Michael King
Charity Finance Yearbook 2015 - OUT NOW
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11 May 2015
David Ainsworth assesses the rationale behind the transfer of English Heritage into the charity sector....
1 May 2015
Following a Department for Communities and Local Government discussion paper on business rate avoidance,...
1 May 2015
Sarah Butler-Sloss explains why the Ashden Trust has decided to divest from fossl fules and use its funds...
19 May 2015
Partway through an ambitious growth strategy, War Child UK is in a period of intense activity. Director...
18 May 2015
Eleanor Harrison explains how GlobalGiving's crowdfunding campaign for Ebola Relief has raised £3m...
15 May 2015
A product of the merger between Family Investments and Engage Mutual, OneFamily Foundation allows customers...
1 May 2015
Heledd Lloyd-Jones looks at the pitfalls of data storage and urges charity boards to take active steps...
1 May 2015
How can charities address the emerging area of cyber risks? Charity Finance convened a panel of interested...
1 May 2015
Kirsty Weakley looks at how Cancer Research UK is using data capture software to help it find new treatments...
Attending our one day courses is a highly effective way of ensuring new and existing trustees fully understand their role, responsibilities and liabilities.
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Istanbul is looking to grow its motor show into a full-blown international event in the coming years . We take a look at where it's starting from
World Rallycross Championship heads to Lydden Hill this weekend
Why this weekend's visit of the World Rallycross Championship to Lydden Hill will be giving me flashbacks to 1989
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Digital reviews editor Aaron Smith drives from Autocar Towers to the Nürburgring for the gruelling 24-hour endurance race
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Red Bull's string of successes seems to have come to an end in 2015
As Red Bull threatens to quit F1 yet again, it's becoming clear that maybe the sport would be better off without it
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Rover 75 Tourer offers big room for small money
The theme of 'big space for little money' is back, here are some of my best bargain-buy estates
Jaguar's hot XE is destined to rival the BMW M3
A hardcore XE might be just the model to crown Jaguar's 3 Series-rivalling range, and could well prove to be a worthy adversary to the M3


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Hippie For Tweens
Hippie Toddler Child Costume
Your child will be ready for Woodstock in this Hippie Toddler Child Costume. Guarantee that he has a peaceful Halloween when you dress him in this jumpsuit with fringed shirt and attached tie-dye patched jeans. Fringed vest with attached tie-dye guitar strap, foam flat guitar, Afro wig and tie-dye…
Peace and Love Hippie Toddler Costume
Your little peacemaker will be spreading peace, love and happiness this Halloween in the Peace and Love Hippie Toddler Costume. This dress features a far-out, peace sign print with matching headband, a fringe vest and matching boot covers.
Hippie Adult Wig
Peace man. Take a hit and chill in this classic Hippie Wig. remember when your hair really was parted in the center and that long? Complete your Hippie costume with this groovy wig. Jerry Garcia would be proud. Keep on truckin'.
Blonde Hippie Wig
…70's this Halloween, it's not a time machine you'll need - It's a groovy wig! Be at peace with your look wearing this long blonde wavy wig that will compliment any stylish hippie costume. Three thick braids hold hair back from your face so your locks can hang zen revealing the face of a true hippie.
Hippie Adult Mens Costume
…celebrate flower power, the age of Aquarius, and maybe even some free love in this authentic looking Hippie Adult Mens Costume. The Afro wig, rock star sunglasses, peace sign necklace, and hippie shirt are just the beginning. Get your groove on and make love, not war when you wear this peaceful…
Hippie Costume T-Shirt
Get groovy before you hit the party when you wear the Hippie Costume T-Shirt. This awesome costume tee features screen printed designs that resemble a colorful hippie vest with peace-sign necklace.
Hippie Mens Costume
Spread peace and love on Halloween when you feel the groove in the Hippie Men's Costume. This colorful print top comes complete with a dark wig, hippie glasses and a peace sign necklace.
Hippie Vest Mens Costume
Show everyone that you're all about peace, love and happiness on Halloween when you wear this Hippie Vest Men's Costume. Top comes with an attached vest, complete with bell bottom pants and peace sign necklace.
Hippie Button Set
Feelin' groovy? Let the world know and complete your hippie costume with this colorful assortment of metal hippie buttons.
Hippie Peace Belt
Feeling groovy? Complete your Hippie costume with this multi color Hippie Belt complete with a peace sign buckle and make love, not war.
Pink Hippie Earrings
Feel the love when you add these groovy pink Hippie earrings to your costume - they are a cross between a peace sign and a heart. Support flower power!
Orange Hippie Earrings
Feel the love when you add these groovy orange Hippie earrings to your costume - they are a cross between a peace sign and a heart. Support flower power!
Joker Tween Costume
Liven up the party when you arrive dressed in this officially licensed Joker tween costume and give Gotham your card. The violet jacket of this Joker costume features a printed green vest, shirt and necktie, complete with a full character face mask with green hair.
Mysterious Mummy Tween Costume
Get wrapped up this Halloween in the Mysterious Mummy Tween Costume. Leave a trail of mystery in this matching pants and shirt combo with shredded bandage details.
Victorian Vampiress Tween Costume
Serve up some sass this Halloween in the Victorian Vampiress Tween Costume. You'll be a force to be reckoned with in this Gothic inspired black, red and purple dress with spooky wings and bat print leggings.
Goth Doll Tween Costume
Not all dolls prefer pink frills and poofy dresses! If you're more of a black velor and red lace kind of gal, you may be a good fit for this Goth Doll Tween Costume on Halloween. Knee length black dress has flared sleeves, hood, and includes white china doll mask, and fishnet tights.
Sweet Raccoon Tween Costume
Arrive as the most sought out nocturnal creature this Halloween in the Sweet Raccoon Tween Costume. Scavenge for candy in this velvety black dress with plush faux fur lining. Stay stripey with the black and grey striped stockings which match marvelously with your tail. No other creature stands a…
Flirty Flapper Tween Costume
Behave any way you want in this Flirty Flapper tween costume. The pink mini dress trimmed with jet-black lace is reminiscent of the 1920's when young ladies flaunted their disdain for "acceptable behavior". Show everyone your rebellious side and jazz up your style with this elegant and fun outfit.
Male Fringed Suede Hippie Vest
Peace, man. Seriously this70's hippie vest is right on!
Groovy Hippie Adult Womens Costume
Feel the love and give free hugs on Halloween when you wear this Groovy Hippie Adult Women's Costume. White top features an attached multicolor retro vest, complete with matching pants and a peace sign necklace.
Hippie Glasses w/Dangle Peace Signs
What a long, strange trip it's been - complete your trippy hippie costume with these unique multi-color glasses. Check out the dangling peace signs - cool!
Hippie Man Wig & Moustache
It would take too long to grow your hair so capture that 70's feeling when you create or complete your costume with this classic long brown wavy Hippie Man wig and bushy moustache.
I Love Nerds Tween Costume
If you're a sucker for the smart guys why not try this I Love Nerds Tween Costume on for size? You'll be just their type in this dress with suspenders, blue plaid pleated skirt and attached "I <3 Nerds" v-neck tee. Matching bow tie and glasses also included.
Rocked Out Zombie Tween Costume
Party for eternity in this killer cool Rocked Out Zombie tween costume. It's Goth meets rock with a short sleeved cropped jacket, black belt and matching leggings! Do the monster mash and the zombie walk and discover the dark side in this black and white blood-stained tunic.