Jones v. Governor of Florida

975 F.3d 1016 (2020)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Jones v. Governor of Florida

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
975 F.3d 1016 (2020)

  • Written by Liz Nakamura, JD

Facts

In 2018, Florida voters passed Amendment 4 to reenfranchise felons who had completed their sentences. To implement Amendment 4, the Florida Legislature enacted Florida Statutes § 98.0751, which defined the completion of a felon’s sentence to include payment of all legal financial obligations (LFO), such as fines, fees, and court costs. To vote, a felon needed to affirm on the voter-registration form that he had completed his sentence. Florida would subsequently screen the registration and would remove the felon from the voter role if his sentence was incomplete. With limited exception, a felon who knowingly voted without completing his sentence could be criminally charged. There was no set procedure by which felons could determine the amount and repayment status of their LFOs. In the 18 months following the passage of § 98.0751, 85,000 felons registered to vote, but none of the registrations were screened by the state. Several felons, led by Kelvin Jones (plaintiffs) sued the governor of Florida (Florida) (defendant), arguing that the LFO payment requirement for reenfranchisement violated the Equal Protection Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Twenty-Fourth Amendment. The district court agreed and ordered injunctive relief, holding that § 98.0751’s LFO payment requirement (1) unconstitutionally discriminated against indigent felons who were unable to pay their LFOs, (2) was unconstitutionally vague because it was nearly impossible for felons to determine the amount and payment status of their LFOs, and (3) constituted an illegal tax on voting in violation of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment. Florida appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Pryor, C.J.)

Concurrence (Pryor, C.J.)

Dissent (Jordan, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 814,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials
  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 814,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 814,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership