A little belated, I need to be better about this!
So anyway, I got the job! They told me it would take a week to get back to me, but I had my interview on a Friday and they called me on Monday. I don't know which corporation I'm being placed in yet. I have a welcome reception at DLA Piper on April 16th where I will meet the mentors, employers, and other eleven interns.
Over spring break I also had my first day volunteering at the Cabrini Green Legal Aid Expungment Help Desk at the Daley Center.
There's a lot of rules and guidelines, it's a little complicated but I'll explain in brief. If someone was arrested for certain minor crimes and released without charge or found not guilty, and a certain time period has passed, you can help them file a petition to expunge their criminal record. If that goes through, nobody will be able to see the record, it's essentially destroyed. If they aren't eligible for expungement they are often eligible to have their record sealed, which basically means private employers can't see the record, but the government and law enforcement can.
I know some people feel that these people are criminals and that they should not be helped. In fact, I used to think the same way. I've changed my mind since learning more and working with some of these people. In our legal system, we are innocent until proven guilty. Should someone who was mistakenly arrested and released without charge or found innocent at trial bear the stigma of that error for his or her whole life? I don't think so.
To that, you could counter and say a pattern of arrests, despite the fact that there was no conviction, probably means the person is an "unsavory character." But that's not really my judgment call. A person with bleak chances for employment is more likely to commit crimes than someone who can get a job. Most of the people I helped did not have any arrests later than the early 1990s. All they wanted for the most part was simple jobs at a restaurant or a gas station.
It was rewarding to be able to tell them they were eligible for a sealing or expungement. I did see one woman break down into tears because she was not eligible for either procedure because of a drug -related conviction years ago. She couldn't find work and she had three children. I felt horrible for her. She wasn't my client, but it was still disappointing that we could not help her. The supervising attorney did manage to refer her to a list of employers who overlook certain minor offenses like her drug charge.
I hope that I can continue to deliver good news when I volunteer again next week!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Of Criminals and Corporations
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3 comments:
Excellent post Ayesha.
I think its really telling that in a sense people being convicted for "drug related offenses" make up a large portion of the prison population.
A lot of these people are convicted for smoking pot or snorting coke. But because they live in poorer neighborhoods the cops crack down on them harder despite the fact that middle to upper class suburban kids have a higher rate of illegal drug abuse than do "ghetto people," yet they are rarely caught for breaking the law.
Essentially what this does is creates an entire subclass of people who due to having a felony and criminal record have a much harder time getting into school or even getting a menial job at a gas station.
This of course perpetuates the cycle of poverty.
I love it when you learn and grow.
*Also, my little post-check word is prega. I can't decide if that's a ghetto way of saying "preggers" or really bad Italian.
Congrats on getting the job! And good on you for the work you are doing in Cabrini Green. You are really helping people get what everyone looks for at some point: a second chance. Or maybe a third or fourth chance, because some of us learn the hard way. See you tomorrow!
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