“This is everyone's issue”: Policy entrepreneurs, issue framing, and coalition building in the passage of automatic criminal record expungement
Publication Date
1-1-2025
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Criminology and Public Policy
DOI
10.1111/1745-9133.70003
Abstract
Research Summary: Since 2018, at least 12 U.S. states have introduced policies to expunge certain eligible arrest and criminal conviction records through automated or algorithmic means. Drawing on interviews with governmental representatives and community stakeholders, this paper identifies strategies used to pass this legislation in Pennsylvania and Utah, the first two states to enact automated expungement policies. We frame our findings around three established theoretical frameworks of public policy making—policy entrepreneurship, issue framing, and coalition building—illustrating their combined strategic importance with data gathered from those involved on the ground in the passage and adoption of automated expungement legislation. The findings add depth and nuance to the policy-making literature, along with practical implications for future criminal legal reform initiatives. Policy Implications: Interviewees consistently described how key policy entrepreneurs played essential roles in the development, passage, and implementation of automated criminal record expungement by strategically framing the issue of criminal record discrimination around core values shared by conservatives and liberals, such as workforce development. Broad bipartisan coalition building enabled the scale-up of automated expungement policies within states where it has been adopted and has aided diffusion to new states. These findings can inform the approaches taken by advocates of automated expungement and other criminal justice reform initiatives, particularly in conservative or polarized political environments.
Keywords
collateral consequences, criminal records, expungement, record clearance, reentry
Department
Justice Studies
Recommended Citation
Elsa Y. Chen, Sarah E. Lageson, and Ericka B. Adams. "“This is everyone's issue”: Policy entrepreneurs, issue framing, and coalition building in the passage of automatic criminal record expungement" Criminology and Public Policy (2025). https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.70003
