Florida Gov. DeSantis to appeal Amendment 4 ruling that allows ex-felons to vote

[libertybele]

Florida Gov. DeSantis to appeal Amendment 4 ruling that allows ex-felons to vote

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday he would appeal a federal judge’s decision to strike down a Florida law requiring felons to pay fines and fees associated with their sentences before getting back their right to vote.

"It'll go to the 11th Circuit, and we'll see what happens there," DeSantis told reporters in Miami, referring to the Atlanta-based appellate court.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle issued a ruling Sunday that said Florida's law approved in 2019 to install Amendment 4 was unconstitutional because it required felons to pay restitution, fines and fees before being able to vote. Florida voters approved the amendment in 2018 with more than 64% of the vote.

Hinkle called the law a "pay-to-vote system" and noted the difficulty in finding out how much a felon might owe...........

https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2020/05/27/florida-gov-desantis-to-appeal-amendment-4-ruling-that-allows-ex-felons-to-vote/

[PeteS in CA]

That ruling, IMO, is ridiculous, equating two things that are not in the least equal.

[libertybele]

That ruling, IMO, is ridiculous, equating two things that are not in the least equal.

I was one that voted for the amendment as I believe IF a felon does his time, he should have voting rights restored.  That does not include ALL felons however AND completing one's sentence includes paying any fines or monies due period.

[roamer_1]

I was one that voted for the amendment as I believe IF a felon does his time, he should have voting rights restored.  That does not include ALL felons however AND completing one's sentence includes paying any fines or monies due period.

The solution has to be something in the middle....
I will equate this to felons owning guns...

I know plenty of good ol boys that sowed some wild oats in their youth, did their time and settled down... I don't see the value of denying the right to self defense (and hunt, a subsistence up here) to a man who ain't done nothing wrong for twenty years.

At some point there is an evident and demonstrable change. If that has indeed occurred, I think the full restoration of rights should be revisited.

And I think restitution is often wholly out of reach. I have a friend who got nailed for arson... Long story, but a single car garage full of junk was involved. The owner of the garage, wanting to maximize an insurance dividend, established the value of a garage full of junk at more than a quarter million dollars.

So restitution starts there. What the insurance paid out, and what they did not cover. Completely ridiculous figures - the 1 car garage itself as an instance, was valued at 80k... Then the hospital bills my friend incurred - He was a part of the conflagration. Then the cost of his trial and incarceration, and finally, the state assistance his wife and kids were on while he was doing time.

That is the full cost of 'restitution'.

And he is an ex-con sweeping up in a bar after hours. Because that's all he can get hired to do.
He will never, ever be able to pay that off.

[libertybele]

The solution has to be something in the middle....
I will equate this to felons owning guns...

I know plenty of good ol boys that sowed some wild oats in their youth, did their time and settled down... I don't see the value of denying the right to self defense (and hunt, a subsistence up here) to a man who ain't done nothing wrong for twenty years.

At some point there is an evident and demonstrable change. If that has indeed occurred, I think the full restoration of rights should be revisited.

And I think restitution is often wholly out of reach. I have a friend who got nailed for arson... Long story, but a single car garage full of junk was involved. The owner of the garage, wanting to maximize an insurance dividend, established the value of a garage full of junk at more than a quarter million dollars.

So restitution starts there. What the insurance paid out, and what they did not cover. Completely ridiculous figures - the 1 car garage itself as an instance, was valued at 80k... Then the hospital bills my friend incurred - He was a part of the conflagration. Then the cost of his trial and incarceration, and finally, the state assistance his wife and kids were on while he was doing time.

That is the full cost of 'restitution'.

And he is an ex-con sweeping up in a bar after hours. Because that's all he can get hired to do.
He will never, ever be able to pay that off.

Your point is well made, however I believe that the fines are the actual court costs, not restitution.  I could be wrong.

Yes, there is a lot wrong with the system.  I believe every felon who has completed their sentence and is released should be mandated to go into a 6 month re-entry (for lack of better term) program where they are trained and prepared for re-entering society and I believe workplaces should be given some type of tax credits for hiring felons.  Excluding repeat offenders, murderers, rapists and pedophiles.

[roamer_1]

Your point is well made, however I believe that the fines are the actual court costs, not restitution.  I could be wrong.

Yes, there is a lot wrong with the system.  I believe every felon who has completed their sentence and is released should be mandated to go into a 6 month re-entry (for lack of better term) program where they are trained and prepared for re-entering society and I believe workplaces should be given some type of tax credits for hiring felons.  Excluding repeat offenders, murderers, rapists and pedophiles.

They'll pay the piper, long after they get out. I was rather unyielding in my own business about hiring ex cons. For obvious reasons, and because my insurance company had a say in who I hired. I actually went to bat for two - the only two ex cons I ever (knowingly) hired.

I think that will happen in the short term regardless of incentives. Nobody wants a guy that will thieve from you... Nobody wants a bad tempered violent guy who won't fit in a crew... More trouble than it is worth.

SO you are going to see a loooong reentry naturally. He is going to have to find people to trust him again, and every inch of that trust will have to be earned. That's 'hard knocks' all the way, and won't be anything else.

I see restoration of rights as a sort of restoration of honor. Considering those hard knocks, and he kept his nose clean anyway, hard as it was... Maybe 10 years out, a certified restoration might make his past life ineligible in considering his insurance rating... Make it ineligible in consideration for loans... A kind of redemption that could become a significant milepost to those looking to hire...

But it has to be hard won. It has to mean something.