Op-ed: More criminal records should be cleared automatically

By Jenny Montoya Tansey — I have a criminal record. I lost a job because of it. Like many of the 70 million Americans with criminal records, I have been penalized long after I did everything the court required to resolve my case. New research by Public Rights Project shows that people with criminal records are more than twice as likely to become victims of corporate abuses like wage theft, predatory lending and unsafe rental housing. Justice does not only mean enacting good policy; it also means getting the implementation and enforcement right.