Abuse of the Record of Arrest Not Leading to Conviction

Abstract

This paper compares the United States with thirty-nine other countries in regard to the use of records of arrest that have not led to a conviction. In the U.S., persons previously arrested though not convicted are often denied jobs or licenses because of the failure by government agencies and private employers to distinguish between an arrest and a conviction, a practice incom patible with the principle of the presumption of innocence.