A rundown on how criminal justice reform did at the ballot box last night. First, Louisiana voters voted to end nonunanimous jury verdicts in felony cases. Now, effective January 1st, verdicts must be unanimous: usnews.com/news/best-stat…
Second, Florida voters voted to end felony disenfranchisement, restoring the right to vote to 1.5 million Floridians. It will be interesting to see which state next tackles this issue: businessinsider.com/felony-disenfr…
Third, it received less attention, but Floridians passed Amendment 11, which allows the legislature to apply new crim laws retroactively. Example: the elimination of mandatory minimums can apply retroactively to defendants convicted of minor drug crimes: miamiherald.com/opinion/letter…
Fourth, Michigan became the 10th state to allow recreational marijuana: cnbc.com/2018/11/06/mic…
Fifth, Colorado voters voted to abolish prison slavery, i.e., forced prison labor without pay: vox.com/policy-and-pol…
Sixth, Nashvillians "creat[ed] a new citizen-led panel to oversee the actions of police, the culmination of a decades-long push from black leaders in the city.": tennessean.com/story/news/pol…
Seventh, Marsy's Law passed in Florida, Georgia, and Oklahoma (results pending in Kentucky, Nevada, and North Carolina). This is a win for victims' rights but a loss for a defendants' rights and could easily increase wrongful convictions: vox.com/policy-and-pol…
Eighth, Ohioans rejected Issue 1, which "would have reduced the penalties of some drug crimes, emphasized treatment and moved away from incarceration.": cleveland.com/open/2018/11/o…
Ninth, Washington seems to have passed Initiative 940, which creates a good faith test to determine if a LEO's "use of deadly force was necessary, require de-escalation and mental health training and require law enforcement to administer first aid.": dailyevergreen.com/41966/news/dea…
Tenth, Utahans decided that "patients in the state should have legal access to medical marijuana.": sltrib.com/news/politics/…
Eleventh, voters in North Dakota voted against legalizing recreational marijuana: kvrr.com/2018/11/06/mea…
Twelfth, Missouri voters approved medical marijuana with a constitutional amendment: kansascity.com/news/politics-…
Thirteenth, voters in Alabama voted to ban sheriffs from pocketing tax money meant to feed inmates: motherjones.com/crime-justice/…
Fourteenth, "[f]ive out of six Ohio cities that had local marijuana decriminalization measures on the ballot have passed the initiatives": marijuanamoment.net/five-ohio-citi…
Fifteenth, Massachusetts voted to keep transgender protections, which can protect transgendered people from civil and criminal actions: vox.com/policy-and-pol…
Sixteenth, Alabama and West Virginia passed abortion amendments that "could put major limitations on access to abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court.": thehill.com/policy/healthc…
Seventeenth, Lousianans passed Amendment 1, which prohibits convicted felons, unless pardoned, from seeking or holding public office until five years after they complete their sentences: ballotpedia.org/Louisiana_Amen…
Eighteenth, voters in Oregon rejected "Measure 105 in unofficial returns, upholding the state’s decades-old sanctuary law": opb.org/news/article/o…
Nineteenth, Washingtonians passed I-1639 raised the legal age to buy semi-automatic rifles to 21, created a storage law that makes it a felony for gun owners to fail to secure their guns, etc.: seattletimes.com/seattle-news/p…
