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Criminal Background Checks Criticized for Incorrect Data, Racial Discrimination
Loaded on Feb. 15, 2014
by Derek Gilna
published in Prison Legal News
February, 2014, page 40
A July 2013 study by the National Employment Law Project (NELP) found that widespread errors in FBI arrest data – which is increasingly relied upon by employers conducting criminal background checks – has reached alarming proportions. According to NELP staff attorney Madeline Neighly, the FBI records used for background checks …
Filed under:
Discrimination,
Racial Discrimination,
Inability to Work,
Statistics/Trends,
Databases.
Location:
United States of America.
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More from this issue:
- Violence, Security Lapses and Media Attention Lead to Reforms at Georgia Prison, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Prison Phone Justice Campaign: Recent Developments
- Bankruptcy Injunction Covers Pre-petition Incarceration Costs, but Not Those that Accrue Afterwards
- What Are the Odds of Complete Reversal After Conviction in the Second Circuit?, by Peter Schmidt
- The Effects of Private Prison Confinement in Minnesota on Offender Recidivism
- Confronting Prison Slave Labor Camps and Other Myths, by James Kilgore
- Ninth Circuit: 9-Year Detention Pending Civil Commitment Proceeding Warrants Habeas Relief
- Possession of Rape Video Warrants Restitution; Victim Awarded Over $1 Million Thus Far; Supreme Court Grants Cert.
- California: Felons with Prior Juvenile Strikes Excluded from County Jail Placement Under Realignment Act
- PA Prison Lieutenant Fired After Assisting in Criminal Investigation
- PLN Settles Censorship Suit Against Texas County Jail for $175,000
- New Trial Granted in Jail Strip Search Case Following Jury Verdict; $385,000 Settlement, by Matthew Clarke
- California: State Prisoner Cannot Serve Concurrent Sentence in County Jail
- Iowa: Bad Faith or Misconduct can Overcome Mental-Process Privilege in Disciplinary Case
- Prisoner Assaulted in Tennessee Jail Settles Suit for $530,000, by Derek Gilna
- Arrested: What to do When Your Loved One’s in Jail, by Wes Denham, by John Dannenberg
- California: Sexually Violent Predator Entitled to Jury Trial on Petition Seeking Conditional Release
- Medical Parole for Texas Prisoners on the Decline, by Matthew Clarke
- Qualified Immunity Denied to Prison Psychiatrist who Prescribed Lethal Drug Combination; $450,000 Settlement
- Court Employee Fired for Helping Wrongfully Convicted Prisoner Prove His Innocence, by Christopher Zoukis
- NY Prisoner’s Youthful Age Considered in Modifying Prison Disciplinary Sanction
- Eighth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Excessive Use of Force, Retaliation
- Islamic Organization Petitions to Let Muslim Women Prisoners Wear Hijabs, by Christopher Zoukis
- West Virginia Sex Offender Does Not Have Right to Attend Specified Church
- Ninth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Wiccan Prisoners’ Establishment Clause Claim
- Rules Governing Lethal Injections Not Required under Georgia Law
- Deliberate Indifference Medical Claim Accrues Upon Discovery of Injury and its Cause
- Private Corrections Institute Issues First Annual Awards for Activism, Advocacy and Reporting on Private Prisons
- Criminal Background Checks Criticized for Incorrect Data, Racial Discrimination, by Derek Gilna
- Former Kansas Prisoner’s Sexual Misconduct Suit Overcomes Qualified Immunity
- Ninth Circuit Upholds Six-Day Contraband Watch Conditions
- Reflections on the No More Jails Campaign in Champaign County, Illinois, by James Kilgore
- Ninth Circuit Questions Constitutionality of Requiring Jail Prisoners to Wear Pink Underwear, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania Jail Official Indicted for Groping Co-workers, by Christopher Zoukis
- Solitary Confinement’s Invisible Scars, by Five Oman Mualimm-ak
- Lawsuit, Whistleblower Allege Rape by Guards at New Mexico Prison
- Ninth Circuit: Immigration Detainees Must be Afforded Opportunity to Challenge Continued Detention after Six Months
- Discretionary Immunity Dismissal of Ohio Prisoner’s Negligence Claims Reversed
- Restitution Not Owed for Arrest Costs, West Virginia Court Holds, by Derek Gilna
- Washington: No Public Funds for Deferred Prosecution Treatment Programs
- Short-term Deprivation of Toilet Paper Does Not Violate Detainee’s Rights
- Justice Department Reports: Correctional Populations Declining at Slower Pace, by Derek Gilna
- Jails Market Electronic Cigarettes to Prisoners, by Christopher Zoukis
- Crime Declines while Anti-crime Funding Increases, by Christopher Zoukis
- News in Brief
More from Derek Gilna:
- Federal Judge in Louisiana Issues Sweeping Opinion Finding Numerous Eighth Amendment, ADA and RA Violations at Angola, April 1, 2022
- Human Rights Defense Center Prevails in Censorship Lawsuit Against Napa County Jail, California, Sept. 1, 2021
- California State Auditor’s Report Faults Counties for Waste and Poor Oversight of State Funds Used in “Public Safety Realignment”, Sept. 1, 2021
- The Fight Over Cellphones in Prisons Rages On, Sept. 1, 2021
- District Court Extends Armstrong Order to Five Additional California Prisons, Sept. 1, 2021
- HRDC Settles Censorship Lawsuit with Johnson County, Kansas Jail for $50,000 and Policy Changes, Aug. 1, 2021
- Virginia Prosecutors to Dismiss 400 Drug Convictions Tied to Disgraced Cop, July 15, 2021
- Discredited New York Police Detective’s False Testimony Causes the Dismissal of Close to 100 Drug Convictions, June 15, 2021
- D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences Firearms Examination Unit Under Fire, April 15, 2021
- Mississippi Joins Illinois and Few Other States Prioritizing Vaccination of State Prisoners to Slow Spread of COVID-19, April 1, 2021
More from these topics:
- Arrests of Unhoused People Driving Albuquerque Jail Bookings, May 1, 2026. Government Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Jail Specific, housing, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration.
- Prison Policy Initiative Updates Its Mass Incarceration Report, May 1, 2026. Geriatric Classification, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Electronic Monitoring, Effects of Mass Incarceration.
- Prisoners in Oklahoma Can Now Buy Vapes, Pouches from Commissary, April 1, 2026. Medical, Statistics/Trends, Commissary, Prison Regulations.
- Six Years of the First Step Act: Federal Prison Data Reveal Treatment Gains, Persistent Disparities, and Unanswered Questions, April 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Systemic Medical Neglect, First Step Act, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Confinement in Segregated Housing.
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Report Breaks Down Federal Contraband Sentences, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Statistics/Trends, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- U.S. Jails Hold 52,000 Detainees for Nothing More than “Failure to Appear”, March 1, 2026. Criminal justice system reform, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Bail/Pretrial Release, Arrest/Arraignment.
- New Jersey Governor’s Order Allows People with Prior Felony Convictions to Serve on Jury Duty, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, State Legislation, Restrictions, discrimination, Jury Selection.
- Texas Prisoner Declared Innocent 70 Years After Execution, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Death Penalty, False Confessions, Eyewitness Identification, Prosecutorial Misconduct.
- Minnesota Study Shows Disproportionate Rate of Health and Mental Problems for Recently Incarcerated, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Medical, Statistics/Trends, Mental Health, Health care.
- Louisiana Prisoner Sustains Claim Against Prison Doctor for Allowing Assignment to “Field Duty” Despite Known Ankle Injury, March 1, 2026. Inability to Work, Skeletal Injury, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity, Deliberate Indifference.

