Parent Conviction Cases

When someone is charged with a crime and sentenced to either parole, probation, or jail time, it is often assumed that once the person has served their sentence, they’re done with that chapter and can move on with their lives. With every sentence, the party that is charged also has collateral consequences, that is, “…penalties, disabilities, or disadvantages imposed upon a person as a result of a criminal conviction, either automatically by operation of law or by authorized action of an administrative agency or court on a case by case basis.”(Weissman) These “penalties, disabilities, and disadvantages…”(Weissman) can be split up into seven general categories, with some defendants being affected by all seven of them, for a “greater” charge like homicide, or being affected by only a few consequences, for charges that are not “as bad”, such as possession of an illegal substance. The seven categories are: 1) disenfranchisement, 2) …show more content…
However, if the parent has to serve a long sentence, and causes the child to enter foster care, the parents rights may be completely terminated involuntarily(ProConorg). As far as professional licensing restrictions go, some states are making efforts to limit how a felony conviction can prevent a person from attaining a professional license. However, it is still common for a felon to lose any professional licenses they obtained prior to their conviction, or be unable to obtain a license in approximately 80 fields after they have served their sentence(ProConorg). For handguns, in a few scattered states, felons can own a handgun after a certain period of time has passed since they have completed their sentence, including their probation and/or parole. In virtually all of the states however, felons can only regain their right to bear arms if their record is