Hayden v. Pataki
Encyclopedia
Hayden v. Pataki is a legal challenge to New York State's law disenfranchising individuals convicted of felonies
while in prison
and on parole
. The initial pro se complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, by Joseph Hayden on September 12, 2003.
The plaintiff
, Joseph Hayden, a former incarcerated felon and Campaign Director at Unlock the Block, argues that the law has a disproportionate impact on African American
s and therefore violates Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act
as a denial of the right to vote on account of race, in addition to violating the First
, Fourteenth
, and Fifteenth Amendments
. The U.S. District Court dismissed the case as not violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
, nor of violating any of the Constitutional Amendments.
In an en banc rehearing of a panel decision, the Second Circuit held that the law did not violate the Voting Rights Act. See Hayden v. Pataki, 449 F.3d 305 (2nd Cir. 2006).
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
while in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
and on parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
. The initial pro se complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, by Joseph Hayden on September 12, 2003.
The plaintiff
Plaintiff
A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
, Joseph Hayden, a former incarcerated felon and Campaign Director at Unlock the Block, argues that the law has a disproportionate impact on African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s and therefore violates Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....
as a denial of the right to vote on account of race, in addition to violating the First
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
, Fourteenth
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
, and Fifteenth Amendments
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"...
. The U.S. District Court dismissed the case as not violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....
, nor of violating any of the Constitutional Amendments.
In an en banc rehearing of a panel decision, the Second Circuit held that the law did not violate the Voting Rights Act. See Hayden v. Pataki, 449 F.3d 305 (2nd Cir. 2006).