The Civil Consequences of a Criminal Conviction – Part 2 Collateral Consequences

Part Two: Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions

In our last post we discussed the impact that a criminal conviction can have on employment opportunities. This post carries the same theme as the last post, in that there are often civil consequences beyond the consequence of the criminal conviction and accompanying penalties.

One area that people don’t often think of when dealing with a criminal conviction is the impact that the conviction will have on their family. Many times family members have a variety of reactions when they learn that a loved one has been charged with a crime, ranging from fear all the way to anger. It can also cause significant hardship on a family when a member of their family is incarcerated and unable to work. Depending on the nature of the crime, families of an individual who have been convicted of certain crimes often feel embarrassed or unsure with how to cope with a loved one’s criminal conviction. Beyond the person charged or convicted of a crime, the conviction can cause immense stress and anxiety for family members uncertain as to what the outcome of the case may be.

Once a person has been convicted of a crime, the long-term consequences can have an impact on the family unit as a whole. Specifically, when child custody and placement is at issue in a divorce, criminal convictions are often utilized in arguing for placement with one parent versus the other. Any information about a criminal conviction is easily accessed given that it is public record. Information has become even more accessible to the general public with the use of the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Page (often referred to as CCAP). Often the type of conviction can be of further harm in a family court setting, for example with a battery conviction, it can be argued that a person may have violent tendencies. That is why it is essential to have an experienced attorney involved when you have been charged with a crime, in order to mitigate not only the criminal penalties but the collateral civil consequences that flow from a criminal conviction as well.

If you or someone you know has been charged with a crime please contact one of the lawyers at our office in Racine, Wisconsin.

Links of interest:

• https://thinkprogress.org/how-the-system-punishes-children-if-their-parent-has-a-criminal-record-ca9ccac0c762#.3dhfkfir1
• https://www.thenation.com/article/boxed-how-criminal-record-keeps-you-unemployed-life/
• https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwink5OCrqnQAhUGr1QKHWBuAaAQFggjMAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.purdue.edu%2Fhhs%2Fhdfs%2Ffii%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F07%2Fs_nmfis04report.pdf&usg=AFQjCNH7IljqMGjYAjGkxQyJjVZdUdHe2g&sig2=7ZnfG5rJaGQRUsxrsQBGIg&bvm=bv.138493631,d.cGw