Overview

People convicted of crimes are subject to a criminal sentence, but they also face a host of other restrictive legal measures: Some are denied access to jobs, housing, welfare, the vote, or other goods. Some may be deported, may be subjected to continued detention, or may have their criminal records made publicly accessible. These measures are often more burdensome than the formal sentence itself. In Beyond Punishment?, Zachary Hoskins offers a philosophical examination of these burdensome legal measures, called collateral legal consequences. Drawing on resources in moral, legal, and political philosophy, Hoskins analyzes the various kinds of collateral consequences imposed in different legal systems and the important moral challenges they raise. Can collateral legal consequences ever be justified as forms of criminal punishment or as civil measures? Hoskins contends that, considered as forms of punishment, such restrictions should be constrained by considerations of proportionality and offender reform. He also argues that they may in a limited range of cases be permissible as risk-reductive civil measures. Whether considered as criminal punishment or civil measures, however, collateral legal consequences are justifiable in a far narrower range of cases than we find in current legal practice. Considering just how pervasive collateral legal consequences have become and their dramatic effects on offenders' lives, Beyond Punishment? sheds valuable light on whether these restrictive measures are ever morally justified.

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9780199389254

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Reviews

Love them or hate them, collateral legal consequences are among the most significant and distinctive features of the U.S. justice system: By an order of magnitude, they affect more people than the combined number in prison or jail, and on probation or parole, and they are harsher and more numerous than in any other democracy. This rigorous, careful work analyzes the justification and legitimacy of collateral legal consequences, and makes a compelling case for reform. This book is indispensable reading for those interested in the justice system, scholars and policymakers alike. -Gabriel J. Chin, Edward L. Barrett Chair & Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law, University of California, Davis School of Law Every legal philosopher should be concerned about the fact that criminal offenders suffer a wide range of negative consequences after their official punishments have been served. Hoskins has produced the first book to describe these consequences and to assess whether they can be justified. This is an important and original achievement I enthusiastically recommend to every philosopher of criminal law. -Douglas Husak, Department of Philosophy, Rutgers University Hoskins' book offers the first, systematic philosophical treatment of the many issues raised by our tendency to impose burdensome measures on criminal offenders over and above the official sentences handed down to them for their crimes. Given its many virtues, Hoskins' book should be the starting point for all future discussion and analysis of those issues. It is impressive in scope, fully immersed in and responsive to the empirical, legal, and philosophical literature on collateral consequences, careful to draw relevant distinctions among the issues, and subtle in its analysis of them. It is a first-rate example of philosophical thinking brought to bear on an important public policy matter. -Richard Lippke, Indiana University A criminal conviction can bring a host of collateral legal consequences - voting and employment restrictions, loss of access to housing, to welfare, and so on - that are too often ignored by penal theorists. Hoskins' Beyond Punishment is the first systematic attempt to address the question of whether such consequences are morally justifiable. It will define the debate for the foreseeable future. -Matt Matravers, Professor of Law, University of York

Author Information

Zachary Hoskins is Assistant Professor in philosophy at the University of Nottingham. He writes about issues in moral, legal, and political philosophy, especially about normative questions raised by the criminal law and punishment. He has co-edited two books and written more than 20 articles.

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