The Clean Slate for Michigan package is a set of six bills that will transform how expungements are handled in our state. Once passed, they will open up expungement opportunities to more people, allow people to get expungements more quickly than before and automate the process in many cases. But since each bill handles a [...]
Two weeks ago, the ACLU of Michigan, with state Sens. Curt VanderWall (R-Ludington), Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) and Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) announced a forthcoming bill package to reform habitual sentencing in Michigan. The proposed reforms will address four concerns related to habitual sentencing, one of which was discussed in an earlier blog, that resulted in [...]
Last week’s meeting of the Criminal Justice Policy Commission (CJPC) will be it’s second to last. Despite an effort in both the Michigan and Senate to extend the commission’s mandate at the last minute, there appeared to be no desire from the legislative leadership to give the CJPC second life. Michigan’s CJPCC was created by [...]
The Clean Slate legislative package has arrived, and now is the time to get on board and show your support and advocate for even broader reforms. The legislation is a set of bills that would, among other things: expand the number of people who are eligible for expungement, automate the expungement process in many of [...]
On Sept. 9, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers introduced Clean Slate legislation to Michigan. If passed, this legislation will be crucial in helping people who have a criminal record and who have lived crime-free for years. This package of legislation would increase the number of these people who would become eligible for an expungement, [...]
Now that the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration has started to meet, you will likely start to hear more about topics such as pay-to-stay, cash bail reform and jail diversion programs. The purpose of the task force is to draft recommendations that will guide the Legislature as it looks for ways [...]
More than 70 people were in attendance for the second meeting of the Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration which was held in Traverse City on Aug. 23, 2019. The Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration was created by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, and Speaker of the [...]
If you are ever standing before a judge to be sentenced in Michigan the least you’d hope for is a fair and impartial hearing. You’d never want a judge to decide whether to send you to prison, and for how long, based on factors such as whether you were able to afford your own attorney, [...]
Veterans Day is Nov. 11, but when that day falls on a weekend, as it does in 2018, the federal holiday is also observed in a weekday, which is why Veterans Day is being observed on Nov. 12 this year. Safe & Just Michigan honors the spirit and sacrifice of all the people who wore [...]
On August 17 the C.A.R.E.S. Task Force hosted a meeting at the Hope Network office in Grand Rapids. Hope Network is an organization providing services that improve the independence of vulnerable populations. Rep. Kesto (R – District 39) opened the hearing by saying that he is seeking “insightful and cutting edge policy recommendations that makes [...]