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Restoration of Rights Project

Restoration of Rights Project homepage image

The Restoration of Rights Project (RRP) is a project of the Collateral Consequences Resource Center in partnership with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Legal Aid & Defender Association, National HIRE Network, Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, and Paper Prisons Initiative.  It was launched in 2017. The RRP is an online resource containing detailed state-by-state analyses of the law and practice in each U.S. jurisdiction relating to restoration of rights and status following arrest or conviction. Jurisdictional “profiles” cover areas such as loss and restoration of civil rights and firearms rights, judicial and executive mechanisms for avoiding or mitigating collateral consequences, and provisions addressing non-discrimination in employment, licensing, and housing.

In addition to the jurisdictional profiles, Project materials include a set of 50-state comparison charts that make it possible to see national patterns in restoration laws and policies.  Short “postcard” summaries of the law in each state serve as a gateway to the more detailed information in the profiles, and provide a snapshot of applicable law in each state.

The RRP is intended as a resource for practitioners in all phases of the criminal justice system, for courts, for civil practitioners assisting clients whose court-imposed sentence has exposed them to additional civil penalties, for policymakers and advocates interested in reentry and reintegration of convicted persons, and for the millions of Americans with a criminal record who are seeking to put their past behind them.

Resource Type
General Resources