Pathways to Expungement for Minor Crimes Expand Further

As even more states choose to fully legalize marijuana, the legacy of its illicit status continues to be a source of strife for offenders. With many states previously criminalizing cannabis to such an extent that small amounts carried harsh penalties, tens of thousands of people now live with a marijuana-associated criminal record. A conviction for a non-violent crime such as possession may not always carry a severe penalty, but its effects can linger: offenders often face difficulty securing housing, completing job interviews, and accessing credit.

Ban the Box Reaches Rental Applications in Detroit

“Ban the box” policies are laws and ordinances that prohibit some inquiries into criminal history, and they are not new. For years, cities, counties, and states have been implementing ban the box legislation. Most of those policies relate to employment, barring employers from asking about criminal history on their job applications. Ban the box is starting to take root in another area: housing.

Landlords in a Changing “Fair Chance” Landscape Must Have the Right Screening Tools

In the United States, at least 100 million people rent the homes and apartments that they live in, contributing hundreds of billions of dollars to a critical component of the real estate sector. The rental market does not only represent massive property management firms and moguls with broad; many real estate professionals own only one or a few properties. In both cases, protecting the substantial investment that a landlord makes in each property means being careful about who becomes a tenant.