An inside look at politics and social justice in Lincoln Nebraska as it pertains to the wellbeing of African Americans in Nebraska.
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Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. There is no guarantee a criminal record can be expunged. Each state has procedures on what type of charges can be expunged. However, all hope is not gone. Depending on the circumstances, you can apply for a pardon by your state governor or the president of the U.S. in…
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I. Restoration of Civil/Firearms Rights A. Civil rights Person convicted of “treason or felony” may not vote “unless restored to civil rights.” Minn. Const. art. VII, § 1. By statute, civil rights (including right to sit on jury) restored upon discharge from sentence. Minn. Stat. § 609.165, subd. 1 (“When a person has been deprived…
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I. Restoration of Civil/Firearms Rights A. Civil rights A person who has been convicted and sentenced “for a crime for which the penalty imposed is confinement in jail or prison” is disqualified from voting “while confined.” Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.758b. See also Mich. Const. art. 2, § 2. Disqualification while confined also applies to…
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I. Restoration of Civil/Firearms Rights A. Civil Rights “Persons who are incarcerated in a correctional facility due to a felony conviction” may not vote. Mass. Const. Amend. Art. 3 (as amended in 2000). A person sentenced to imprisonment for a federal or state felony forfeits any public office he currently holds. Mass. Gen. Laws ch.…
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I. Restoration of Civil/Firearms Rights A. Vote/Office The Maryland Constitution authorizes the General Assembly to disqualify persons from voting who are convicted of “infamous or other serious crime.” Md. Const. art. I, § 4. With one exception, disenfranchisement is limited to persons convicted of a felony who are “currently serving a court-ordered sentence of imprisonment…
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I. Restoration of Civil/Firearms Rights A. Civil rights The right to vote is not lost even upon incarceration. The right to serve on a jury is also not lost. See Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. Tit. 14, § 1211 (providing disqualifications for jury service, none of which refer to criminal history).1 The right to hold office…
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I. Restoration of Civil/Firearms Rights A. Vote The right to vote “may be suspended” while a person is “under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony.” La. Const. art. I, § 10. This does not require actual imprisonment; disenfranchisement applies to people on parole, and also to probationers whose prison sentence was suspended. …
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I. Restoration of Civil/Firearms Rights A. Vote/office Persons convicted of a felony lose the right to vote and it is restored only by expungement (available only for certain low-level felonies, see Part II-B, below) or personal action of the governor. See Ky. Const. § 145(1) (“Persons convicted in any court of competent jurisdiction of treason,…
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I. Restoration of Civil/Firearms Rights A. Civil Rights A person convicted of a felony loses the right to vote, to hold office, and to serve on a jury. Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-6613(a).1 These rights are automatically restored upon completion of the authorized sentence. § 21-6613(b). Upon satisfaction of conditional release or parole (or…
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I. Restoration of Civil/Firearms Rights A. Vote/Office Under the Iowa Constitution, persons convicted of an “infamous crime” (any crime punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary, which may include aggravated misdemeanors as well as felonies) are ineligible to vote or hold public office. Iowa Const. art. II, § 5; see Iowa Code § 48A.30(d). The rule…
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I. Restoration of Civil/Firearms Rights A. Civil Rights Vote The Indiana Constitution authorizes the legislature to pass laws disenfranchising those convicted of an “infamous crime.” Ind. Const. art. 2, § 8 (“The General Assembly shall have power to deprive of the right of suffrage, and to render ineligible, any person convicted of an infamous crime.”).1 …
