NCJ Number
239166
Journal
Punishment & Society Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2012 Pages: 3-28
Date Published
January 2012
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the socio-political views of Spain and the United States on criminal history information.
Abstract
A criminal conviction, if widely known, constitutes a life-long stigma that limits the convicted person's employment and other opportunities. European countries, including Spain, recognizing an individual right of informational privacy and a societal interest in limiting recidivism, sharply restrict the dissemination of individual criminal history information. By contrast, the Unite States of America, in accordance with its commitments to judicial transparency, free speech and the individual's right of self protection, allows (and even promotes) extensive dissemination of individual criminal history information. This article compares the profoundly different policies on providing public access to individual criminal history information in Spain and the United States of America, illuminating the cultural and legal values behind each country's policies and the tensions both countries encounter in attempting to reconcile these policies with other socio-political values and goals. (Published Abstract)