Collateral consequences are the loss of rights a person suffers after being convicted of a crime.\u00a0 They have previously been described as having the potential to cause \u201ccivil death.\u201d\u00a0 Such consequences are different from the punishments that might be imposed by a judge as part of a criminal case. \u00a0This is because collateral consequences are not found in criminal statutes.\u00a0 Instead, they often arise out of the myriad civil statutes or civil consequences that are triggered by the criminal conviction.\u00a0 This means that most collateral consequences require no judge to impose them, and they afford no opportunity for due process.<\/p>\n
Most crimes are punishable by a statutorily allowed maximum period of prison or jail time.\u00a0 For example, a standard, first offense drunk driving in Michigan, carries with it the possibility of up to 93 days in jail.\u00a0 However, for cases involving a test result of .17 or above, the maximum penalty increases to 180 days.\u00a0 In a drunk driving causing death, charged as second-degree murder, is punishable by life in the state prison, or any term of years. \u00a0These specific statutory maximums are significant because a criminal lawyer advising her client about a conviction can usually predict, at least within a range, the actual time a client will spend behind bars. The same is most certainly not true of collateral consequences.<\/p>\n
A case addressing this is United States v. Nesbeth<\/em>, 188 F.Supp.3d 179 (2016).\u00a0 Nesbeth was convicted of importation of cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.\u00a0 The advisory guidelines would have allowed a sentence of between 33 and 41 years in prison, but because of the significant collateral consequences, the judge saw fit to give him no jail at all, meaning straight probation.\u00a0 The opinion explaining why should be required reading for all criminal defense attorneys.<\/p>\n