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Leon County Judge Orders State Officials to Restore Civil, Voting Rights of Nearly 30,000 People with Past Felony Convictions
Final Judgment Issued in ACLU Lawsuit Against Florida Department of Corrections
For Immediate Release
Friday, July 25, 2003
Contact:
Miami: Alessandra Soler Meetze, ACLU-FL, (305) 576-2337 ext. 16
MIAMI ? In a decision that could have a profound impact on the lives of thousands of people, state officials agreed to restore the civil and voting rights of nearly 30,000 ex-felons who did not receive proper assistance ? as required by law ? with Florida's lengthy and complicated rights restoration process.
The final judgment, approved today by Leon County Circuit Court Judge P. Kevin Davey, came in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Florida, the Florida Justice Institute and Florida Legal Services on behalf of black lawmakers, three Miami-based organizations that work with ex-felons and several individuals with past felony convictions. The ACLU contended in the lawsuit that the state failed to comply with its statutory obligation to assist offenders ? prior to their release from supervision ? with the application process to restore voting and civil rights.
During the course of the lawsuit, the Department of Corrections (DOC) acknowledged that 124,769 offenders who were released between 1992 and 2001 did not receive assistance pursuant to Florida Statute § 944.293, which requires that the department assist inmates who are about to be released from custody or supervision with the application for restoration of civil rights.
In August 2002, Judge Davey directed the parties in the lawsuit to submit a plan to assist the former felons with the application process. His final order instructs the DOC to assist the Office of Executive Clemency in screening and processing those ex-felons who qualify for rights restoration without a hearing before the Board of Executive Clemency. The DOC also has agreed to assist the Office of Executive Clemency in mailing notices informing former felons that their rights have been restored.
Since approximately 83 percent of the ex-felons who were identified by the state do not qualify for rights restoration without a hearing, the DOC also agreed to assist the Office of Executive Clemency in mailing the necessary application forms to ex-felons who must request a hearing. The process of applying for restoration of civil rights with a hearing often takes several years. Even then, there is no guarantee that applicants will have their rights restored.
"Many of these people should have had their rights restored nine years ago ? further evidence that this entire process needs to be changed," said Randy Berg, lead counsel in this lawsuit. ?The Governor and his Cabinet can change this process this afternoon with a vote of the Clemency Board and the stroke of the Governor's pen."
The screening process to determine who is eligible for restoration without a hearing could take up to 12 months. In the meantime, the state will send letters to people who do not qualify for civil rights restoration without a hearing and place public service announcements on local media outlets to announce a new toll-free number and web site for people to inquire about the process.
Florida is one of only six states that impose a lifetime civil and voting rights ban following a felony conviction. Loss of civil rights takes away not only the right to vote, but also the right to hold public office, serve on a jury and qualify for certain types of state occupational licenses.
Florida's voting and civil rights ban affects more than 500,000 people. Disenfranchisement is a lifetime ban, unless rights are restored by the Board of Executive Clemency.
?The State of Florida is creating varying degrees of citizenship by singling out people with felony convictions," said Courtenay Strickland, Director of the ACLU of Florida's Rights Restoration Project. ?When our government starts creating degrees of citizenship, we are creating something that is not quite a democracy."
The case, Florida Conference of Black State Legislators et al. v. James Crosby, was filed in Leon County Circuit Court in Tallahassee in 2001 on behalf of: Florida Conference of Black State Legislators, People United to Lead the Struggle For Equality (PULSE), Brothers of the Same Mind, Inner City Grass Roots Civic Coalition, and individual plaintiffs with past felony convictions, Reginald Greenlee, Joseph Brown, Milton McCloud and Hollis Horton.
In addition to Berg, JoNel Newman and Charles F. Elsesser Jr., of Florida Legal Services, and Randall Marshall, ACLU of Florida Legal Director, serve as attorneys in this case.
