Especially if you are an attorney, but even if you are not.
In a number of states, including California, there are charges that can be felonies or misdemeanors, depending on how the prosecutor chooses to file the case. And even then, in some instances, the charge may be reduced by the judge from a felony to a misdemeanor.
What difference does this make ? A HUGE ONE !
Follow me for the explanation.
If a person is a convicted felon, in some some states this bars them FOR LIFE from voting.
In other states, like California, even if you have been convicted of a felony, as long as you are not in prison or on parole, you may vote.
So, you say, what ?
Well, how would you feel if you found out after 11 years, that what you thought was a felony was really a misdemeanor-- and you have been putting on your job applications that you were a convicted felon all these years ? And probably not getting a lot of jobs because of that supposed conviction ?
And that you have not been registered to vote because you thought you were a felon, and didn't know that, since you aren't in prison and aren't on parole, that, at least in California, there is no reason not to register and vote ?
Well, you would feel a lot like the man I just talked to a few minutes ago, who is leaving my office with a voter registration form in his hands and tears in his eyes.
He said, "Now I feel like a real member of society again !"
This is not the first time I have had the pleasure of giving a rehabilited defendant his civil rights back, nor, I hope, will it be the last.
You, too, can make a difference. If a friend or acquaintance has this issue, help them to find out if they may be eligible to vote by encouraging them to ask an attorney, or check this
link to the ACLU website for more information.