We can do everything we can to get out of trouble, and in many cases, with the right attorney and a little luck, we will succeed. However, there are inevitable times when the best attorney and the best streak of luck are not enough to get you out of a criminal conviction. In those cases, you will have a criminal record attached to you for the rest of your life. Those criminal records can affect your lifestyle in a number of ways. Let’s take a moment to see the ways that a criminal record can affect you.
First, it can affect your ability to earn a decent living. A criminal record can be used as the basis for an employer not to hire you. While most of the time it is possible for a potential employer to hear what happened and take it into account before making a hiring decision, there are some companies that have a zero tolerance policy against convictions of any kind other than trafficking. very slight. or drug possession charges. In those cases, a criminal conviction means an automatically closed door.
In many states, and in some cases in specific cities, there are laws that allow rental agencies to conduct background checks and use the appearance of a criminal record as the basis for denying you renting an apartment or house. These laws are not extremely common, but they do exist, mainly in larger cities and more conservative states.
This means that the legal troubles you had 20 years ago may be enough to prevent you from getting that amazing apartment when it’s time to move into your job.
In most states, the law allows a lender to conduct a background check on an individual before making a decision about whether to grant a loan or line of credit. These laws mean that you can be denied a car loan, a mortgage, a small business loan, a home improvement loan, even a personal loan or a check cashing advance based on the presence of a criminal record. . In fact, some banks will not even open a checking account for you if you have a conviction for certain crimes on your record.
Many volunteer organizations will not allow you to work with them or accept donations from you if you have a criminal record. In most cases, you will not be able to work with many government agencies, not even as a volunteer or even as a volunteer for a political campaign or civic action coalition with a criminal record.
There is a possibility that you will be denied entry to other countries, or if you are allowed to enter the country, your movements may be restricted to only certain cities while traveling abroad. Your passport will often indicate the presence of a criminal record on it (many countries do not yet, but each year they start to do more).
In the case of a work visa application for most North American and Western European countries, you can surely be prepared to have the application denied if the conviction is of a felony level. These are some of the many ways that a criminal record can affect your lifestyle.