人兽性交

When the Southern Poverty Law Center goes to trial on Monday (April 27) over a law undercutting the biggest expansion of suffrage since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the judge will not be on the bench, but in a remote location, staring at his computer screen.

Lawyers on both sides of the case will be sitting at home, making their arguments, cross-examining witnesses, conferring with clients, making objections and presenting evidence 鈥� all without seeing each other in person.

With almost everyone encouraged or ordered to stay home or keep a safe distance of at least six feet from other people to avoid spreading the coronavirus, the trial is not allowed to take place in a physical courtroom of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. So the 鈥渃ourtroom鈥� will be online.

The 人兽性交 Voting Rights Practice Group and a coalition of partners are supporting聽Amendment 4, a measure that Florida voters overwhelmingly approved to restore the right to vote to 1.4 million Florida residents with previous felony convictions. Soon after it was passed, Amendment 4 was undermined by a new law, SB 7066, that created a modern-day poll tax.

The 人兽性交 will argue that the law 鈥� which requires people who have completed their sentences for felony offenses to pay their fines, fees and restitution in full before they can vote 鈥� is unconstitutional.

鈥淔loridians like our clients,聽聽and Sheila Singleton, are unable to overcome the financial barrier to voting that SB 7066 presents 鈥� potentially for the remainder of their lives,鈥� said Nancy Abudu, director of the 人兽性交鈥檚 Voting Rights Practice Group.聽鈥淎 person鈥檚 lifetime participation in our democratic process cannot and should not be conditioned on their wealth. We will argue and emphasize to the court the very real and serious burden this law places on our clients and others in their situation.鈥�

鈥楥ourts are going digital鈥�

The proceedings聽will take place primarily on a video conferencing application that allows multiple people to talk to each other on their computers.

鈥淭o our knowledge, this is the first voting rights case to go to trial virtually,鈥� said Caren Short, senior staff attorney for the 人兽性交鈥檚 Voting Rights Practice Group. 鈥淭his is all because of COVID-19. All the courts are going digital.鈥�

The people participating in the online trial will be spread along most of the East Coast and even as far away as the Midwest. Those who are directly involved in the trial will be allowed into the virtual courtroom by way of 聽a closely guarded link that is password-protected to prevent what鈥檚 known as 鈥�,鈥� when uninvited attendees break into and disrupt a video meeting.

But anyone from the public can listen in on the trial by phone via a special number that will be posted on the court鈥檚 docket. The phone conference will be like a gallery 鈥� where members of the general public are allowed to sit behind the lawyers in a traditional courtroom 鈥� except that there will be a lot more 鈥渞oom鈥� for people to participate.

Some normal court activities will be different in the virtual world.

Everyone except the person presenting their case or presenting evidence at the time will have their video turned off. If a lawyer wants to object to something, they have to turn on their video and hope that the judge notices so they can make their case. Evidence will be presented via screen sharing.

Over the last few weeks, the 人兽性交鈥檚 voting rights legal team has been practicing on the video system with each other and their clients to troubleshoot any issues before trial.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been working with the court鈥檚 IT personnel to test it out,鈥� Short said. 鈥淭hey gave us some tips on which browsers to use and how to work it and the best way to proceed.鈥�

There are also other challenges in a video courtroom.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not physically present with our clients or our witnesses,鈥� Short said. 鈥淪o they鈥檙e going to be by themselves testifying. We鈥檙e not even in the same state. It鈥檚 just sort of a whole new world where we鈥檙e not able to prepare for the testimony in the same room. It鈥檚 not just the trial itself. It鈥檚 all the things leading up to it.鈥�

The prospect of testifying online hasn鈥檛 dampened the spirit of McCoy, one of the plaintiffs.

鈥淲e worked so hard to get the support of 5.1 million voters across the state to pass Amendment 4 in 2018,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 am excited to tell my story to the court 鈥� so that thousands of people just like me can finally use our voices to improve our community.鈥�

Singleton is also looking forward to the trial.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited to finally have my day in court to make clear to the judge why my vote matters and that the amount of money in my bank account shouldn鈥檛 prevent me from having a voice in my community,鈥� she said.

Fines, fees, court costs and restitution

At stake in the online trial are the voting rights that Amendment 4 restored, but that the new law undercuts.

In November 2018, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved聽Amendment 4聽to restore the vote to 1.4 million of their fellow residents with previous felony convictions. It was the largest single expansion of voting rights since the civil rights movement.聽

That victory, however, was quickly undermined by Florida lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed SB 7066, requiring hundreds of thousands of newly enfranchised people to pay off legal debt they owe 鈥� such as fines, fees, court costs and restitution 鈥� before they can vote.

However, last October, the district court temporarily blocked SB 7066 from going into effect, allowing the plaintiffs to cast their ballots in the March primary elections before the trial.

Now, the 人兽性交 is collaborating with other civil rights organizations whose cases challenging Amendment 4 have been consolidated with the 人兽性交鈥檚 lawsuit and will be argued at the same time.

The other organizations in the coalition are the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Florida, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Brennan Center for 人兽性交 at NYU Law, and the Campaign Legal Center. The cases that have been consolidated with the 人兽性交鈥檚 McCoy v. DeSantis lawsuit are 补苍诲听.

During the trial, the court will hear testimony from聽Singleton, one of the 人兽性交鈥檚 plaintiffs.

After being incarcerated for six months, Singleton came out owing money for fines, fees and restitution that she is still unable to pay. In February 2019, she received a voter registration card from the Duval County Supervisor of Elections office and voted in a countywide election.

But in May 2019, she was informed that she owed nearly $1,000 in court-ordered costs, fines and fees associated with her criminal sentence. The county clerk also informed her that she owed nearly $15,000 in victim restitution, plus any and all interest that continues to accrue on the principal amount. Currently, she owes over $16,000.

Because of her criminal history, it has been extremely difficult for her to find a job that allows her to pay her living expenses, let alone court-ordered debt.

鈥楧isproportionately impacted鈥�

Singleton wasn鈥檛 the only person being disenfranchised by this modern-day poll tax. The 人兽性交鈥檚 other plaintiff,聽McCoy 鈥� and hundreds of thousands of otherwise newly enfranchised people 鈥� couldn鈥檛 vote because of legal financial obligations.

And while the October ruling in the 人兽性交鈥檚 lawsuit meant that Singleton and McCoy, who owes almost $8,000 in court-ordered debt, could cast their ballots, hundreds of thousands of other voters are still prevented from voting due to the modern-day poll tax.

鈥淏ecause women of color enter and exit the criminal justice system at a financial disadvantage, SB 7066 especially endangers their ability to vote. We will continue to fight on behalf of our clients and all Floridians who have been unconstitutionally denied such a fundamental right,鈥� Abudu said. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 in a traditional courtroom or online, we won鈥檛 give up the legal fight to protect the equal rights of all people.鈥澛�

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