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US federal appeals court hears oral arguments in Mississippi felony disenfranchisement case

JURIST

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case challenging a Mississippi felon voter disenfranchisement law. The post US federal appeals court hears oral arguments in Mississippi felony disenfranchisement case appeared first on JURIST - News.

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Thousands stuck in Mississippi jails without trial, MacArthur Justice Center reports

JURIST

The Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law published a report Wednesday identifying thousands of people being held in Mississippi’s county jails while awaiting trial because they cannot afford bail or public defenders unavailable when required.

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US appeals court to reconsider decision striking down Mississippi Jim Crow-era voter disenfranchisement law

JURIST

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed on Thursday to reconsider a decision from August that a provision of the Mississippi Constitution that permanently prevents people convicted of certain felonies from voting is unconstitutional. Third, even if disenfranchisement were a punishment, it is not cruel and unusual.

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US Supreme Court asked to review Mississippi’s felon disenfranchisement provision

JURIST

A petition was filed Friday with the US Supreme Court asking the Court to review the constitutionality of the felon disenfranchisement provision of Mississippi’s 1890 Constitution. ” Harness and Karriem were convicted of forgery and embezzlement in Mississippi.

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Lifetime voting ban for felony convictions isn’t punishment, 5th Circuit says in Eighth Amendment challenge

ABA Journal

A lifetime ban on voting by people convicted of some felonies in Mississippi does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, a federal appeals court ruled…

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Only 1 out of 5 defendants in this Mississippi county get court-appointed lawyers before indictment

ABA Journal

The right to counsel is “tenuous” in a small Mississippi justice court in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, where two judges appointed lawyers for felony defendants in…

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Court Upholds Jim Crow-era Voting Restrictions in Mississippi

The Crime Report

5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Mississippi can continue to bar more than 10 percent of its citizens from voting, maintaining a Jim Crow-era provision that bars Mississippians convicted of felonies from taking part in elections, reports the Daily Journal.

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