Comments on: Anti-Sotomayor Fearmongering Campaign Opens New Front: Felons And The Vote http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/06/03/sotomayor-fearmongering/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:42:01 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Mike http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/06/03/sotomayor-fearmongering/comment-page-1/#comment-153652 Mike Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:33:16 +0000 http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/?p=12676#comment-153652 If I'm remembering this case correctly, there's more to it than differential incarceration rates. While these prisoners cannot vote, they ARE counted for the purposes of representation. Because they are incarcerated upstate in majority-white, conservative districts, these non-voting prisoners end up increasing the political clout of those districts. The plaintiffs estimated that this translated into as many as 7 extra Republican seats in the state legislature. The result is, in effect, a modern version of of the old 3/5 rule under slavery. If I’m remembering this case correctly, there’s more to it than differential incarceration rates. While these prisoners cannot vote, they ARE counted for the purposes of representation. Because they are incarcerated upstate in majority-white, conservative districts, these non-voting prisoners end up increasing the political clout of those districts. The plaintiffs estimated that this translated into as many as 7 extra Republican seats in the state legislature. The result is, in effect, a modern version of of the old 3/5 rule under slavery.

]]> By: Chris Diaz http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/06/03/sotomayor-fearmongering/comment-page-1/#comment-153646 Chris Diaz Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:40:10 +0000 http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/?p=12676#comment-153646 Anybody who knows anything about the issue (DOJ, sociologists, criminal justice experts, etc...) knows that white criminals (especially concerning drug offesnses) are less likely to be 1) monitored in the first place, 2) caught, 3) charged, 4) convicted, and 5) receive a stiff sentence if convicted. Beyond the rule of law that Sotomayor based her decision on, there is most certainly a disparate impact based on racism and profiling within the law enforcement and judicial systems. Anybody who knows anything about the issue (DOJ, sociologists, criminal justice experts, etc…) knows that white criminals (especially concerning drug offesnses) are less likely to be 1) monitored in the first place, 2) caught, 3) charged, 4) convicted, and 5) receive a stiff sentence if convicted.

Beyond the rule of law that Sotomayor based her decision on, there is most certainly a disparate impact based on racism and profiling within the law enforcement and judicial systems.

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