Basic Principles Needed for CORI Reform
So Says Boston Bar Association

BOSTON – As the Massachusetts Legislature prepares to convene a hearing on Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) reform legislation, the Boston Bar Association today unveiled 12 basic principles covering four categories that meaningful CORI reform demands:  Accuracy, Access, Sealing, and Juvenile Justice.  The principles were developed by the BBA Study Group on CORI Reform, chaired by employment attorney Jennifer Catlin Tucker.

"Successful re-entry is a critical component of preventing recidivism," said BBA President Tony Doniger.  "It is no secret that many employers find it easier to hire someone without a smudge on his or her record than to deal with trying to understand CORI," said BBA President Tony Doniger.  "The principles adopted by the BBA provide an important road map for those on all sides of the issue.  Where CORI is concerned, nothing is more dangerous than inertia."

BBA STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES ON CORI

1.       Accuracy

• A system should be established to improve the accuracy of the CORI that is maintained by the Criminal Systems History Board.
• Research should be conducted to determine whether it is advisable to redesign and simplify the form and content of CORI reports in order to make it easier for non-law enforcement personnel to understand them, and to craft more usable guidelines on the subject.
• A process must be established that enables the correction of erroneous CORI in a timely and effective manner.

2.       Access

• The Legislature should consider adopting additional criteria with respect to: (i) who may have access to CORI and under what circumstances; (ii) the content of the CORI that should be released; and (iii) permissible use of the CORI in the housing and employment contexts.  In formulating these criteria, the Legislature should consider whether to prohibit the making of housing and employment decisions based solely on the fact of CORI without regard to the content, timing, and relevance of the CORI.
• There should be no restriction of access to CORI by law enforcement personnel.
• The Legislature should consider creating a system that enables offenders to present prospective employers with documentation reflecting their satisfactory completion of probation or rehabilitation requirements.
• Those who have access to CORI should also have access to training that enables them to read and interpret CORI accurately.

3.       Sealing

• The Legislature should consider developing criteria for sealing CORI which more accurately reflects scientific research regarding recidivism rates and which more precisely distinguishes between categories of offenses which warrant the application of discrete sealing criteria.
• The Legislature should consider whether housing authorities and employers should be precluded from denying housing or employment to an individual based solely on the existence of sealed CORI. 

4.   Juvenile Justice    

• The CORI system should be revised so that individuals who commit criminal offenses while minors are not prevented from obtaining housing and employment for years after they have completed any probation or other sentencing requirements.  The Legislature should consider whether purging or expungement of juvenile records should be permitted under standards to be applied by the courts (except that, records of criminal activity that caused the individual to be designated as a youthful offender under M.G.L. c. 119, s. 52 would not be eligible for purging).
• Juveniles should be educated about their rights with respect to their CORI records and potential inquiries of prospective employers and housing authorities.
• If prospective employers and housing authorities are permitted to have access to information reflecting an individual’s juvenile CORI, they must receive training on how to read and interpret it.