ACS Tampa: A Survey of Felony Disenfranchisement in Florida: Restoring Voting Eligibility Through Sentencing Modification Motions

Angel Sanchez will discuss the legal terminology involved in felony disenfranchisement, especially as developed after the passage of Amendment 4 to the Florida Constitution and its progeny of case law and statutes interpreting it. He will also provide a brief background and history of felony disenfranchisement in Florida. He will end with an explanation of what the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition is doing to help restore civil rights for returning citizens through its Fines and Fees Project and the Motions for Modification of Sentence for the Purposes of Voting conducted with the help of pro bono attorneys.

Angel Sanchez is the author of the essay, "In Spite of Prison," published by the Harvard Law Review. He is a senior member of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC). FRRC's efforts in 2018 led to the successful and historic passage of Florida's citizen-initiated Amendment 4, which rolled back Florida's Jim Crow-era practice of disenfranchisement for life upon a felony conviction. Angel himself was tried as an adult when he was 16 years old and spent over 12 years in prison--meaning he lost his right to vote before he was old enough to even vote. After his release in 2011, Angel moved into a Salvation Army homeless shelter away from his hometown and began his "homeless to law school" journey. This past year, Angel graduated from the University of Miami School of Law where he was a member of the University of Miami Law Review and where he graduated in the top 10 percent of his class and was awarded Order of the Coif. Angel currently serves as a Senior Policy Analyst with the FRRC and leads its pro bono Attorney Assistance Program. You can follow Angel on Twitter @AngelSanchezFla.