Legislation

While wealthier individuals who can post bail are permitted to go home while awaiting their hearings, those without immediate cash flow are forced to stay in jail until their case is heard, creating a wealth-based incarceration system.

The implications of a felony charge versus a misdemeanor are substantial, and impact numerous facets of one’s life, including access to employment, housing and higher education. This legislation would have reclassified simple drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor.

We testified in favor of legislation which would have implemented a pilot program for harm reduction clinics but noted that a critical part of its success would be statutorily ensuring that law enforcement have no jurisdiction over the clinic.

The ACLU has consistently opposed the imposition of mandatory minimum sentencing terms because they are ineffective, costly, eliminate individualized consideration of the offender and the circumstances of the offense, and place too much power in the hands of prosecutors instead of neutral judges.

This legislation, strongly supported by the ACLU, would have repealed an outmoded statute which declares any person serving a life sentence in prison “civilly dead".

In opposing these bills, we noted that harsh legislative restrictions on the rights of sex offenders are counterproductive and can promote recidivism by making it extremely difficult for them to reintegrate into the community.

Often, seemingly innocuous licensing bills have provisions including expansive and vague language which could render individuals with a criminal background, no matter what crimes they have been convicted of or how long ago their conviction was, unable to procure certain occupational licenses.