California Court of Appeal

Writ of mandate claiming that disenfranchment allowed by section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment is limited to felonies at common law is denied where: 1) there is no historical evidence supporting the claim; and 2) the US Supreme Court in interpreting the Constitution never read the word "crime" as petitioners contend.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/22/2009
• Published 01/22/2009

Judges

• RICHMAN, J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• John R. Cosgrove, Menlo Park, for Petitioners., Maya L. Harris, American Civil Liberties Union, Margaret C. Crosby, Diana C. Tate, Saneta De Vuono-Powell;  Brad Seligman, Berkeley, Impact Fund, for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and Impact Fund as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioners.


• For Appellees:
  
• Edmund G. Brown Jr., Attorney General, Christopher E. Krueger, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Stephen P. Acquisto, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Jason E. Rios, Deputy Attorney General, Jeffrey I. Beddell, Deputy Attorney General, for Respondent Secretary of State., James N. Fincher, Merced County Counsel, James E. Stone, Roger S. Matzkind, Chief Civil Litigator, for Respondent Registrar of Voters of Merced County., Judy W. Whitehurst, Office of the County Counsel, Patrice J. Salseda, for Respondent Registrar of Voters of Los Angeles County., Robert A. Ryan, Jr., County Counsel, John F. Whisenhunt Jr., Assistant County Counsel, for Respondent Registrar of Voters of Sacramento County.