Margaret Colgate Love has posted The Collateral Consequences of Padilla V. Kentucky: Is Forgiveness Now Constitutionally Required? (University of Pennsylvania Law Review PENNumbra, Vol. 160, No. 113, 2011) on SSRN.  Here is the abstract: 

People who commit a crime and are brought before a court to be sentenced expect to face a prison term or at least probation, and perhaps a fine. They may expect to experience a degree of social opprobrium, the so-called “stigma of conviction.” They surely understand that having a criminal record is not career-enhancing. But they also probably think that at some point they will be able to pay their debt to society and return to its good graces. They are reinforced in their belief in the possibility of redemption by periodic reminders from our elected leaders: President George W. Bush called America “the land of second chance,” and President Obama famously called to congratulate the Philadelphia Eagles for letting Michael Vick walk directly from prison back into the team’s starting lineup. 

Continue reading “Love on Collateral Consequences of Padilla v. Kentucky “