Collateral Consequences Calculator–New York State.
Purpose
This calculator is designed as an aid to legal research for judges, attorneys and legal academics. It can provide a preliminary overview of the collateral consequences associated with sections of the New York State Penal Law. You may use this as a way of seeing the big picture and beginning the process of parsing the varied consequences of criminal charges. As the Calculator cannot account for the specific circumstances of each defendant, it is up to you to research and analyze the ultimate consequences of each charge in the context of the defendant’s life. For example, in the area of immigration consequences, accurate analysis and attorney advice to a noncitizen defendant will depend on investigation of individual circumstances, such as the defendant’s immigration status, prior criminal record, the specific contents of the court record of conviction and whether the particular defendant might be ineligible for relief from removal depending on circumstances such as family ties or length of residence in the United States.
Scope
In this, the initial version of the Calculator, we have tracked the collateral consequences in two important substantive areas: immigration and public housing eligibility in New York City. The immigration consequences are analyzed for the top 51 crimes that are either most commonly charged or carry consequences that are commonly misunderstood. The public housing eligibility consequences are analyzed for all crimes listed in the Penal Law, but apply only to public housing in New York City.
Use
Charges are ordered by penal law number in a menu on the left hand side of the screen that mimics the organization of the New York Penal Law. Click on a number range grouping to open that area of the menu and select a charge. Once you’ve selected a charge, the consequences of that charge will appear in a three column break-down on the right that reflects the probability that a consequence will attach to a conviction. To compare the consequences that flow from two different charges select and display the consequences for the first charge and then select and display the consequences for the second charge. For more information please view this tutorial.
About The Collateral Consequences Calculator
In 2005 New York’s Chief Judge, Judith S. Kaye, initiated the Partners in Justice program, uniting legal practitioners, educators, and judges to promote information sharing around social justice issues. Raising awareness about the collateral consequences of criminal charges served as the springboard for further discussion and action. With the guidance of a follow-up committee chaired by the Chief Judge, the Columbia University School of Law’s Lawyering in the Digital Age Clinic, headed by Profs. Conrad Johnson, Mary Zulack, and Brian Donnelly, the Law School’s Director of Educational Technology, developed the 4Cs website. The 4C’s site is a free online resource that provides high-quality content managed by experts in the major areas of New York law where collateral consequences occur. The site was created for use by judges, practitioners and academics.
The 4C’s website quickly became the most popular online resource for information about collateral consequences in New York. The Collateral Consequences Calculator was commissioned by Chief Judge Kaye and created as a companion resource to the 4C’s website. The Calculator is a joint venture between Columbia’s Lawyering in the Digital Age Clinic and the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning.
The Calculator was designed with an “at-a-glance” format so that users can quickly see where collateral consequences may occur in immigration statewide and public housing eligibility in New York City. Turnbuckles expand to reveal more information. Blue print is linked to more specific relevant information. In this way, the Calculator offers key information that will serve as a base for further research and investigation as warranted by the particular circumstances of each case, As the Calculator cannot account for the specific circumstances of each defendant, it is up to you to research and analyze the ultimate consequences of each charge in the context of the defendant’s life. You can choose how deeply to delve into a particular topic We encourage you to utilize the Calculator in conjunction with the 4C’s website and other resources to gain a fuller understanding of collateral consequences in New York.
The Calculator’s immigration content was vetted by noted immigration expert Manuel D. Vargas, founder and Senior Counsel at the Immigrant Defense Project. For additional information on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, see resources and advisories posted at www.immigrantdefenseproject.org. The public housing eligibility content was created under the supervision of Prof. Conrad Johnson.
The CCNMTL staff who worked on this project are Anders Pearson, Zarina Mustapha, and Jessica Rowe. We would also like to thank Frank A. Moretti, Executive Director of CCNMTL.
Lawyering in the Digital Age Clinic students and interns who have worked on the Calculator include: Shaun Campfield (’07), Kerry Carroll (’11), Harris Cohen (’07), Ana Correa (’10), Peter D’Angelo (’11), Obianuju Enendu (’07), Laura Fibiger (’10), Marc Friedenberg (’09), Sarah Harnett (’08), Conrad Johnson, IV (’13), Diana Marter (’08), Autumn Marton (’10), David Mindell (’08), Sarah Mullen (’08), Edward Newton (’10), Thomas Rosen (’07), Woong Kyu Sung (’07), Alexander Swartz (’07), Andrei Voinigescu (’10), Melody Wells (’08), and Todd Wilkinson (’10).
