Patchwork disclosure: Divergent public access and personal privacy across criminal record disclosure policy in the United States

Scholars have paid minimal attention to state statutory guidance that allows criminal justice agencies to disclose records that contain personal information about arrestees, defendants, and incarcerated people. We analyze US state policy for police, courts, prisons, and record repositories (N = 200)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Law & policy 2022-07, Vol.44 (3), p.255-277
Main Authors: Sandoval, Juan R., Lageson, Sarah E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access
Archives & records
Big Data
Convictions
Courts
Criminal justice
Criminal justice policy
Criminal records
Defendants
Disclosure
Due process of law
Inequality
Personal information
Prisoners
Prisons
Privacy
Public access
State courts
States
Transparency
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Summary:Scholars have paid minimal attention to state statutory guidance that allows criminal justice agencies to disclose records that contain personal information about arrestees, defendants, and incarcerated people. We analyze US state policy for police, courts, prisons, and record repositories (N = 200). Most states restrict access to compiled criminal histories, but nearly all allow broad public access to agency records. Divergent policy guidance accounts for these differences, where transparency laws govern agency records while state criminal codes regulate records of arrest and prosecution, otherwise known as RAP sheets. These policy differences contribute to widespread disclosures of non‐conviction records, raising questions about due process and inequality in the big data age.
ISSN:0265-8240
1467-9930
DOI:10.1111/lapo.12193