By Joshua Kaiser Americans think we know an awful lot about our penal system. Yet policymakers, jurists, academics, offenders, and the public alike remain largely ignorant of more than 35,000 hidden sentence laws across the nation. “Hidden sentence” refers to any punishment imposed by law as a direct result of criminal status, but not as part of a formally recognized, judge-issued sentence. Thus, both restrictions on prisoners’ rights and “collateral consequences” laws are hidden sentences; …