Felon disfranchisement at the Supremes
Lyle Denniston reports on SCOTUSblog: The deepening controversy over denial of voting rights to those convicted of serious crimes -- an issue that has split the Circuit Courts in recent years -- is back at the Supreme Court, in an appeal challenging a Florida law. The appeal in Johnson v. Bush, Governor of Florida (docket 05-212) was filed a week ago by attorneys with the Brennan Center for Justice in New York.
The Supreme Court twice passed up review of that issue last Term, refusing in November to hear cases from Washington State and New York State. But there were good reasons for the Court not to get involved in either of those cases at that point: the Washington case had been sent back by the Ninth Circuit to a District Court for further fact-finding, and the New York case came to the Court amid clear indications that the Second Circuit was going to grant review of that case en banc if the Supreme Court refused to review a panel decision.
The Washington case (Farrakhan, et al, v. Locke, et al.) returned to U.S. District Court and is now scheduled to go to a non-jury trial in Spokane beginning next March 6. (In the District Court, it is docket 96-76). The en banc Second Circuit held a hearing on the New York case (Muntaqim v. Coombe, Circuit docket 01-7260) on June 22, and a decision is pending. -- SCOTUSblog
I will let you know when the Brennan Center posts the "appeal" (which should be a cert petition, I think). [Hint, hint to the Brennan Center folks.]