The Los Angeles Post
U.S. World Business Lifestyle
Today: March 19, 2025
Today: March 19, 2025

Can Mississippi strip felons, including tree thieves, of voting rights? Federal judges hear the case

Mississippi Voting Rights
January 23, 2024

NEW ORLEANS (AP) โ€” Whether permanently stripping voting rights from some Mississippi felons amounts to unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment is being weighed by 19 federal appellate judges, some of whom said during a hearing Tuesday that it should be decided by lawmakers, not a court.

At issue before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans was Mississippi's prohibition on voting for those convicted of any of a list of various felonies, including nonviolent ones such as forgery or timber theft. The outcome could affect voting rights for tens of thousands.

Criminal justice advocates won a major victory in August when a three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled that the ban violates the Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. But the full 17-member circuit court vacated that ruling weeks later and scheduled Tuesday's hearing.

Judge Kyle Duncan was among 5th Circuit judges who suggested during questioning that the Legislature, not judges, should prescribe punishment for a crime. โ€œThere is no judicial calculus to tell the difference between a rapist, and an armed robber and a car thief โ€” and a timber thief, for that matter," Duncan told attorney Jon Youngwood, who was arguing against disenfranchisement.

Judge Stephen Higginson appeared to be more sympathetic to Youngwood's argument, noting that Mississippi is unusual in permanently disenfranchising people for lesser felonies. And he pushed back against Mississippi attorney Scott Stewart's contention that the voting ban is not a criminal punishment, but a regulation regarding fitness to vote.

Permanently disenfranchising someone, Higginson said, "sounds punitive."

The court's 17 full-time active judges heard arguments, along with two senior-status, part-time judges who sat on the panel that ruled against the ban in August. They gave no indication when they would rule.

Under the Mississippi Constitution, people convicted of 10 specific felonies, including bribery, theft and arson, lose the right to vote. Under a previous state attorney general, the list was expanded to 22 crimes, including timber larceny โ€” felling and stealing trees from someone else's property โ€” and carjacking.

To have their voting rights restored, people convicted of any of the crimes must get a pardon from the governor or persuade lawmakers to pass individual bills just for them with two-thirds approval. Lawmakers in recent years have passed few of those bills, and they passed none in 2023.

โ€œMississippi stands as an outlier among its sister states, bucking a clear and consistent trend in our Nation against permanent disenfranchisement,โ€ Senior Judge James Dennis wrote in the August opinion, joined by Senior Judge Carolyn Dineen King. Both judges were nominated to the court by Democratic presidents โ€” King by Jimmy Carter and Dennis by Bill Clinton.

Also on the panel was Judge Edith Jones, still on full-time status nearly 40 years after she was nominated by former President Ronald Reagan. In a dissent to the August ruling, Jones cited a previous Supreme Court ruling regarding felons' disenfranchisement, saying it is up to legislatures to decide such matters.

Tuesday's hearing will include Jones and 16 other full-time members of the court. King and Dennis will also take part because they were members of the original ruling panel. The 5th Circuit is one of the most conservative circuit appeals courts, with 12 of its full-time posts filled by nominees of Republican presidents. Duncan was nominated by former President Donald Trump, Higginson by former President Barack Obama.

___

This story has been corrected to show that an attorney's last name is Youngwood, not Youngblood, and that another attorney's last name is Stewart, not Stern.

Related Articles

Felon arrested in one day due to law enforcement teamwork US Supreme Court turns away Pennsylvania mail-in ballot dispute Cecile Richards, former Planned Parenthood president, has died This class uses museums to show law students the high art of curating ideas
Share This

Popular

Business|Crime|Environment|Political|US

Greenpeace must pay more than $650M in case over Dakota Access protest activities, jury finds

Greenpeace must pay more than $650M in case over Dakota Access protest activities, jury finds
Americas|Crime|World

Man who last saw missing student Sudiksha Konanki has left Dominican Republic after getting new passport, sources say

Man who last saw missing student Sudiksha Konanki has left Dominican Republic after getting new passport, sources say
Americas|Crime|Political|US

Trump administration says deported migrants are gang members, but wonโ€™t name them or provide evidence

Trump administration says deported migrants are gang members, but wonโ€™t name them or provide evidence
Crime|US

Lead investigator in Karen Read case who sent sexist and crude texts about her has been fired

Lead investigator in Karen Read case who sent sexist and crude texts about her has been fired

Crime

Business|Crime|Economy|Political|US

Minnesota jury convicts alleged ringleader of massive pandemic food fraud scheme on all counts

Minnesota jury convicts alleged ringleader of massive pandemic food fraud scheme on all counts
Americas|Crime|US

Brothers and roommate of Laken Riley's killer to be deported after fake green card convictions

Brothers and roommate of Laken Riley's killer to be deported after fake green card convictions
US|Crime|Local

Police to conduct DUI checkpoints in Downey

Police to conduct DUI checkpoints in Downey
Business|Crime|Political|US

US law firm Paul Weiss fired by client over Trump executive order

US law firm Paul Weiss fired by client over Trump executive order

Access this article for free.

Already have an account? Sign In