Thread by @NAACP_LDF

Welcome to day 2 of the #JonesvDeSantis voting rights trial.

To listen to the trial live:

Dial-in & access code:
(571) 353-2300;;034872985#

Or follow @NAACP_LDF for updates throughout the day.

Haughwout, a public defender of Palm Beach County, FL is on the witness stand.

She estimates 90% are simply unable to pay back their fees & could afford to pay maybe $25 -$50 monthly. Minimum fees alone $768 & associated costs quickly add to the total debt.

#JonesvDeSantis

Haughwout: "When people can't keep up with their payment plan it's turned to a civil judgement & over to collection agency...the DMV is notified..drivers licenses are suspended...a 30% agency fee gets tacked onto the balance.

It just goes up from there." 🚨

#JonesvDeSantis

In addition to stripping them of their voting power, this is the burden that LFOs heap upon returning citizens:

Haughwot: "[They run into] credit issues..trying to get out from under this debt..It really becomes insurmountable for the majority of our clients."

#JonesvDeSantis

Haughwot says that in her tenure, legal fees in FL have increased FOUR-fold over the past 30 years.

If someone can't pay up, they suffer. They become virutally unable to acquire:

✖️a drivers license
✖️a credit card due to collections accounts
✖️property

#JonesvDeSantis

Haughwot explains that jails assess costs against inmates while they're in. Fees, $3-10 daily, are heaped atop already outstanding debts.

There's no ability to increase your affluence in prison. The last client Haughwot had who got a job in prison was paid little over $1/hour.

The current line of questioning paints the picture for what life as a returning citizen is like in FL:

Haughwot: "One of our biggest challenges with re-entry is the housing need.. we estimate that 50-75% leaving incarceration are in need of housing."

#JonesvDeSantis

Community service is rarely applied as a remedy. When it is, it's difficult for people trying to make ends meet to find the time.

Haughwot: "All the types of challenges...make it difficult for them to do community service...it requires a great deal of time over a long time."

.@JonathanTopaz of @ACLU is currently conducting the examination of Palm Beach Public Defender Cary Haughwot.

He is now entering a series a question regarding the way the state informs defendants about their LFOs (legal financial obligations).

#JonesvDeSantis

.@JonathanTopaz (@ACLU): How often would you estimate that state judges orally announce LFOs to defendants?

Haughwot: ..it's half &half...it is not a feature of the sentencing proceeding which is why we often have to address this in an appeal.

#JonesvDeSantis

.@JonathanTopaz (@ACLU): If a person gets a cost order..& then is ordered to go to prison, what happens to those docs?

Haughwot: "Frequently they are lost...stuff is destroyed...people are moved & not allowed to bring docs with them...often those things are not retained."

"These are folks that, if they're lucky, they're generally able to support themselves and their dependents--and that's it."

With that, Ms. Haughwot's examination has concluded.

#JonesvDeSantis

Judge Hinkle has just announced that court will be in recess until 3:05 pm EST. ⏲️

Prior to the break, @ACLU's @JulesTwitted conducted a detailed examination of Miami Public Defender Martinez who explained the arduous challenges LFOs bear indigent clients.

#JonesvDeSantis

Judge Hinkle has just ended recess & the examination has resumed.

Join @ACLU, @ACLUFL, @BrennanCenter, @CampaignLegal,
@NAACP_LDF, & @splcenter live as we fight for the full restoration of #votingrights to returning citizens.

Dial-in & access code:
(571) 353-2300;;034872985#

According to Martinez, people with felony convictions in other counties, states, or in federal court are not permitted to seek modifications to their Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs).

This means many are locked in to paying off these debts& can't seek other options to settle.

Ms. Scoon of the @LWVFlorida is now on the witness stand & is being examined by @SMoralesDoyle of the @BrennanCenter .

#JonesvDeSantis

"The league (@LWVFlorida ) does not think that the fundamental right to vote should in any way be linked to the size of a person's pocket book."

Agreed!

#JonesvDeSantis

.@LWVFlorida's primary concern after the passage of #Amendment4 was being "allowed to lawfully register returning citizens who completed their sentence on day 1--Jan 2018."

Despite #Amendment4 passing with 64.55% of votes, the League was told to wait before registering voters.

When asked if there was any indication of a bill like SB 7066 coming...

"All we heard was, don't register people to vote in January. There was no discussion of legal financial obligations."
-Ms. Scoon of @LWVFlorida

#JonesvDeSantis

Ms. Scoon of @LWVFlorida: “Immediately upon the passage of SB 7066...people were terrified. They were afraid of getting in any kind of trouble...worried about the payments being mandatory...People were very hesitant to do voter registration."

#JonesvDeSantis

Ms. Scoon (@LWVFlorida ) describes finding LFOs for people as running into “a lot of brick walls.”

#JonesvDeSantis

When asked what prevents LWV from registering voters post-SB 7066, the bill that requires returning citizens to pay LFOs before voting:

“We don’t want to do anything to cause harm.”
-Ms. Scoon (@LWVFlorida)

#JonesvDeSantis

"Before SB 7066 was passed, so post Amendment Four, but before SB 7066, how long did it take to register new voters?"

Ms. Scoon: Maybe five minutes more than the standard five to fifteen minutes. Most of them are so excited, they really just want to register.

#JonesvDeSantis

Day two of the #JonesvDeSantis trial has officially come to a close. Join us tomorrow at 9AM EST for day three.