The idiocy of federal courts personified. Fed court: Washington State felony inmates should get vote

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Words fail me about this kind of stupidity.


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Fed judges: Wash. felony inmates should get vote

A federal appeals court has ruled that imprisoned felons should be allowed to vote in Washington to ensure that racial minorities are protected under the Voting Rights Act.

By RACHEL LA CORTE

Associated Press Writer

OLYMPIA, Wash. —

A federal appeals court has ruled that imprisoned felons should be allowed to vote in Washington to ensure that racial minorities are protected under the Voting Rights Act.

Tuesday's 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the 2000 ruling of a district judge in Spokane. That judge had ruled that state law did not violate the act, and dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former prison inmate from Bellevue.

The two appellate judges ruled that disparities in the state's justice system "cannot be explained in race-neutral ways."

A spokeswoman says state Attorney General Rob McKenna is weighing the state's next step.