USNews- The Iowa Supreme Court dealt a blow to efforts to restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies, ruling Thursday that the state’s constitution barring those who have committed “infamous crimes” means felons are disenfranchised for life.
An appeal filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Kelli Jo Griffin, who was convicted of a felony nonviolent drug offense, was narrowly rejected on a 4-3 decision.
Attorneys arguing on Griffin’s behalf said nonviolent offenses should not be considered “infamous crimes,” and thus should have their rights to vote returned. But the court shied away from making that determination, instead indicating that it was the responsibility of the state to determine which crimes should be designated that way.
“Constrained, as we must be, by our role in government, we conclude our constitution permits persons convicted of a felony to be disqualified from voting in Iowa until pardoned or otherwise restored to the rights of citizenship,” wrote Chief Justice Mark Cady for the majority.
“This conclusion is not to say the infamous-crime provision of our constitution would not accommodate a different meaning in the future,” he said. “A different meaning, however, is not for us to determine in this case. A new definition will be up to the future evolution of our understanding of voter disqualification as a society, revealed through the voices of our democracy.” more
SNIP: This statement before the article annoyed me:
The decision is a blow to civil rights’ advocates who say the laws unfairly harm African-Americans.
Why single out blacks? Because it’s racism of lowered expectation, that’s why.
Don’t commit felonies and you keep your voting rights. It’s that simple.
And that works for ALL races and both sexes.
Being the federal government’s pet project is demeaning.
Let me re-write that last paragraph for you, Gabrielle, “Iowa’s law remains one of the smartest in the country joining Florida and Kentucky as the only states that recognize the absurdity of allowing such criminals to vote.”
who is kidding who? this wont keep democrat blacks or any democrat felon from voting
I’m glad to see that the Court didn’t attempt to legislate from the bench, and threw the whole mess back in the ACLU’s face.
“Basically, if you want something done, take it up with the lawmakers, not us.”
Thank you, Judges, for allowing even a tiny sliver of sanity into the judicial process.