ing and too frequently are applied without regard for the ability of the defendants to pay the assessed amounts. 29
As Rick Jones, the Executive Director of the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, noted:
Standing in the courtroom, it may seem like a wise thing just to get the criminal charge over with by pleading guilty, but a criminal conviction, even for a minor offense, has an enormous impact on a client’s life. She may lose her housing, her job, her health or food bene- fits. It can impact the custody of her chil- dren. She may face deportation. No criminal conviction should be regarded as minor or unimportant.
13
Misdemeanor convictions also have serious consequences with regard to any future criminal charges faced by the same defendant. A minor conviction can limit a person’s ability to vacate, set aside or dismiss an earlier, more seri- ous conviction. It can also greatly increase the punishment for any future offense and reduce opportunities for sen- tencing reductions. One example is the inability of a person with a prior misdemeanor conviction to utilize the con- trolled substances “safety valve” statute and related provi- sion in the federal sentencing guidelines. 30 A defendant who was previously convicted of a misdemeanor and received 30 days or more in jail or more than one year of probation, and who later faces a federal drug crime charge, is ineligi- ble for a reduction of sentence under a provision that per- mits federal judges to sentence below the mandatory minimum set forth in the statute. 31
Introduction
The Terrible Toll of America’s Broken Misdemeanor Courts
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