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Collateral Consequences

How a Criminal Record Can Lead to a Lifetime of Housing Issues in South Carolina

January 18, 2024

Written By Emily Blackshire-Giel, EJW Housing Fellow Attorney Edited by Dontae James, EJW Housing Justice Fellow The impact of having a criminal record can permeate into every part of a person’s life. Over the next month, we’ll be exploring the different ways the criminal justice system makes it difficult for individuals to stabilize and return…

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SC Housing Stories: How Small Changes Can Make Big Differences | The Rainy Day Fund

May 9, 2022

Welcome to the first feature in our South Carolina Housing Stories project! In this series, we will be talking with advocates, community members, and more about housing issues in South Carolina and discuss the need for housing investments in our state. For our first story, we sat down with Kieley Sutton, a public defender at…

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South Carolina Appleseed’s Statement about the Murder of George Floyd and Nationwide Protests

June 1, 2020

Last Monday, a police officer in Minneapolis senselessly killed George Floyd by kneeling on his throat for nine minutes. Since then, countless people have peacefully protested this injustice across dozens of states and the consequences have been heartbreaking. In many places, law enforcement has responded with excessive force, needlessly escalated tension, and used careless, brutal…

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What Bird Poop, Faulty Drug Tests And A College Quarterback Can Teach Us About Collateral Consequences

August 28, 2019

It’s not often that we see a news story that brings together two separate worlds in South Carolina: college sports and collateral consequences. But thanks to a faulty road-side drug test, bird poop, and a division one football quarterback, these two worlds came clashing together late last month. One July night in Saluda County Late…

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What does a Second Chance Look Like?

April 26, 2019

Each Month, SC Appleseed partners with the Columbia VA Health Care System, Nelson Mullins and volunteer attorneys from across the Midlands to hold a free legal clinic, Lawyers 4 Vets, for Veterans in the Columbia area. Lawyers 4 Vets connects low-income Veterans with attorneys who provide legal advice and representation on a range of issues.…

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Introducing Clean Slate

November 15, 2018

Nearly 1 in 3 Americans has a criminal record, with even minor offenses carrying a stigma. With nearly 9 in 10 employers, 4 in 5 landlords, and 3 in 5 colleges screening criminal background checks, this can bring a life sentence of poverty. We believe that people with criminal records paid their debt to society…

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When criminal records come back to haunt you: Expungements and third-party background reports

November 7, 2017

About one in three Americans have some sort of criminal record, ranging from simple arrests to actual convictions. As any job-seeker or apartment-hunter knows, more and more employers and landlords are using background checks. Nearly 90% of employers and 80% of landlords run some sort of background check on potential employees or tenants. If you…

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2016 SC Appleseed Legislative Wrap Up

June 17, 2016

Coverage of the 2016 legislative session focused on a small number of high profile issues, but all the while here at South Carolina Appleseed we were working on several lesser known but very important bills which were enacted into law. These laws are not only great public policy; they will also help the communities we…

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People with Felony Records Can Vote in South Carolina! Here’s How:

April 27, 2016

It’s no secret that a criminal record has a major impact in many areas of life: the ability to find a good job and being able to support yourself and your family, the ability to find safe and affordable housing, and the reality of facing the lifelong stigma of having a criminal record. Since we…

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S. 255 – Mug Shot Extortion & Expungement Relief

March 3, 2016

On February 16, 2016, Governor Haley signed into law S. 255, a bill sponsored by Senator Paul Thurmond (R). The bill – sometimes  referred to as the “Mug Shot Extortion Bill” – is designed to address businesses that make money from publishing mug shots and arrest records. In addition, S. 255 makes important changes to…

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