CORI: Public Access to Criminal Offender Record Information
The Commonwealth's CORI laws (Criminal Offender Record Information) govern what information about a convicted offender may be made available to the public. In this legislative session (2009-2010), as in the sessions over the past decade, CORI will be a topic of serious public debate: who should have access to CORI records? How much CORI information should employers be permitted to have? Are CORI records accurate? Should portions of an offender's record be expunged?
In the public discussion that will attend the various CORI bills, the District Attorneys ask the public to keep in mind the following:
A balancing of interests:
CORI involves a balancing of the public's interest in information that is relevant to public safety, and a convicted offender's interest in keeping his criminal history private.
Making public information private:
CORI takes what was once public, and makes it private. The fact that an adult offender is charged with, tried for and convicted of a criminal offense is almost always a matter of public information. Newspapers report arrests, trials and convictions. Courtrooms and trials are open to the public, as a matter of constitutional law. Web crawlers capture this published information and make it available to those who search for it. In an age of digital information and the internet, the CORI laws try to put the genie back in the bottle.
Employment concerns:
It is hard to imagine criminal record information that is not relevant to employment. If a job applicant has a record of violence (domestic or otherwise), drug or alcohol abuse, larceny, or weapons, potential employers should have access to that information in order to make an informed employment decision. If a candidate's prior job performance is relevant to a hiring decision, shouldn't his criminal background be equally relevant?
Incentives for employers:
Convicted offenders unquestionably have a difficult time obtaining employment, but disclosure of a criminal record is only one of many impediments to employment. A person with a history of incarceration is going to have significant gaps in his resume, no recent employment history, a dearth of recommendations, and often low skill sets. The District Attorneys recognize the importance of finding decent jobs for convicted offenders, but putting blinders on potential employers by denying them access to CORI information is not the solution. The District Attorneys support re-entry planning and employer incentives to hire persons with criminal records.
Accuracy of information:
The District Attorneys support efforts to improve both the accuracy and "readability” of CORI records.
Expungement:
Public safety and law enforcement officials should always have access to an offender's full record, including cases that were dismissed or where a defendant was found not guilty. A series of dismissals can indicate a pattern of witness intimidation, which is an increasing plague in urban courts; a series of restraining orders and case dismissals can indicate an entrenched pattern of domestic violence; information in dismissed case files can lead investigators to a gang member's associates; a series of dismissals can indicate where a defendant has been given multiple "breaks” when in court. The District Attorneys and law enforcement officers strongly oppose any effort to expunge any portions of criminal records of any offenders, adult or juvenile.