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Article • August 15, 2013
Washington’s Criminal Justice System Racially Biased; VRA Claim Fails by Despite holding that Washington State’s criminal justice system is racially biased, a Washington federal court has held that Washington’s felon disenfranchisement law does not result in discrimination in its electoral process on account of race. This case was originally filed …
Article • March 15, 2013
Filed under: Organizing, Voting
Restoration of Voting Rights a Mixed Bag by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Disenfranchisement of ex-felons has always been a huge issue for civil rights activists. Lately, a few victories have been obtained in the area. The question is, however, how effective have the gains been in empowering ex-felons …
Article • February 15, 2013 • from PLN February, 2013
In Memory of Jon E. Yount (1938-2012) by Peter Wagner Sometime in the early morning of April 26, 2012, in his cell in a remote Pennsylvania prison, a 74-year-old jailhouse lawyer serving a life sentence hung himself. He was a quiet man who avoided taking credit for his work, so …
Article • February 15, 2013 • from PLN February, 2013
Alabama Law Meant to Ensure Transparency in Judicial Elections Not Enforced for 16 Years by Derek Gilna An Alabama law that became effective in 1996, designed to remove any appearance of impropriety in the funding of judicial election campaigns, has languished while all three branches of state government have failed …
Article • January 15, 2013 • from PLN January, 2013
Filed under: Organizing, Voting
California Lawsuit Challenges Voting Prohibition on County-level Offenders by On March 7, 2012, the League of Women Voters, two prisoners’ rights organizations and a female prisoner filed suit against California election officials, alleging that offenders in county jails or on county supervision were being improperly disenfranchised. In an attempt to …
Article • December 15, 2012 • from PLN December, 2012
Federal Court Upholds Maryland Law that Reclassifies Prisoners for Redistricting by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On December 23, 2011, a Maryland federal district court three-judge panel upheld a state law that counts prisoners as residents of their legal home address rather than their prison address for redistricting purposes. …
Article • December 15, 2012 • from PLN December, 2012
Momentum Builds to End Prison-Based Gerrymandering by Peter Wagner Four states and hundreds of local governments are standing up to reject one of the most repugnant aspects of the prison industrial complex: Legislators with prisons located in their districts who claim the people incarcerated there – who cannot vote – …
Article • October 15, 2012 • from PLN October, 2012
Filed under: Voting, News, State Legislation
New York Court Upholds Law Requiring Census Count to Use Prisoners’ Pre-Incarceration Address by On December 1, 2011, a New York Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit that sought a judicial declaration that a state statute requiring prisoners to be counted for reapportionment purposes in their last known residence prior to …
Article • August 15, 2012 • from PLN August, 2012
Filed under: Organizing, Voting
Prisoner Lacked Standing to Challenge Georgia’s Failure to Send Absentee Ballot to Jail by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held on February 2, 2012 that a former Georgia jail prisoner lacked standing to complain that state and local officials had failed to mail his absentee ballot to the jail, …
Article • August 15, 2012 • from PLN August, 2012
Florida Reports Indicate Restoration of Civil Rights Reduces Recidivism by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Advocates of automatic restoration of civil rights for ex-offenders have long maintained that such a policy helps former prisoners reintegrate into society and therefore reduces recidivism. Two reports by the Florida Parole Commission (FPC), …
Article • September 15, 2011 • from PLN October, 2004
Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Voting
Two Empty Bottles With Different Labels: John Kerry on Criminal Justice Issues by Paul Wright By Paul Wright “Americans on the frontlines - our first responders, military forces, sheriffs, policemen, firefighters, and civil defense volunteers - must have the very best equipment, training and support possible. Our safety and freedom …
Article • September 15, 2011 • from PLN September, 2011
Sixth Circuit Upholds Tennessee’s Financial Obligation Re-Enfranchisement Law by Mark Wilson The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a Tennessee statute that bars the restoration of voting rights to ex-felons who have outstanding restitution or child support obligations. Tennessee law disenfranchises convicted felons but allows reinstatement of their voting …
Article • September 15, 2011 • from PLN September, 2011
Filed under: Organizing, Voting
Florida Reenacts Reconstruction-Era Felon Disenfranchisement Rule by David Reutter On March 9, 2011, Florida’s executive clemency board unanimously voted to make it more difficult for ex-felons to have their civil rights restored – including the right to vote, sit on a jury and hold public office. Rather than automatic restoration …
Article • September 15, 2011 • from PLN September, 2011
800,000 Ex-Offenders Regain Voting Rights – 5.3 Million More to Go by Since 1997, an estimated 800,000 former offenders have regained their voting rights as 23 states eased or eliminated felony disenfranchisement statutes and policies, according to a recent report by The Sentencing Project. Still, only seven states – Texas, …
Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011
Filed under: Organizing, Voting
Ninth Circuit Upholds Arizona’s Felon Disenfranchisement Law by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held on May 27, 2010 that Arizona’s felon disenfranchisement law does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment. The law is based on Arizona’s Constitution, which provides that anyone convicted of treason …
Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011
Filed under: Organizing, Voting
Voting Rights Must Be “Earned” Back, Says Iowa Governor by Brandon Sample Regaining voting rights for former felons in Iowa just got harder. Making good on a campaign promise, the newly-elected governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad, a Republican, has rescinded a July 4, 2005 executive order that allowed felons to …
Article • July 15, 2011
Filed under: Organizing, Voting
Alabama Court Bans Felon Disenfranchisement Until Legislature Defines Moral Turpitude Crimes by Alabama’s Jefferson County Circuit Court has held that Alabama’s Constitution permissibly disenfranchises felons convicted of crimes of moral turpitude, but the absence of legislation defining moral turpitude prevents any felon from being disenfranchised. Before the court was a …
Article • June 15, 2011 • from PLN June, 2011
Filed under: Organizing, Voting
Fifth Circuit Holds Mississippi Felons May Not Vote in Presidential Elections by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that there was no exception to the disenfranchisement of felons in Mississippi state law that would allow them to vote in presidential elections. Assisted by the American Civil Liberties Union, Jerry …
Article • May 15, 2011
Second Circuit Orders District Court to Decided Vote Dilution Case by On June 1, 2006, the Second Circuit court of appeals remanded a case challenging the legality of the New York felon disenfranchisement laws (FDL), New York Constitution, Art. II, § 3 and New York Election Law § 5-106. This …
Felon Disenfranchisement Statute Does Not Violate Voting Rights Act by Brandon Sample The good news for Washington state prisoners wanting to restore their voting rights? The state’s felon disenfranchisement statute violates the Voting Rights Act (VRA), a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held on …
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