Worley Watch: Felony Follies

The Associated Press reported yesterday that Nancy Worley is critical of Attorney General Troy King for not responding to her request for a comprehensive list of felonies convictions that make someone lose their voting rights. According to the AP, King was working on the list but has put the work on hold because Worley has been sued over the issue of felony convictions and voting right. King says not that the matter is in litigation, he cannot issue an opinion and that Worley will have to wait and see what the court rules.

 

King is correct. There is no way to tell how the litigation will go. And since he represents the State of Alabama in these lawsuits, he cannot very well issue opinions outside of court that may affect or be affected by the litigation.

 

Worley needs to remember that it was her decision to ignore the plain language of the Alabama Constitution that got her sued and in this mess. King issued an opinion in early 2005 saying that not all felony convictions make a person to lose his voting rights. He even provided a brief listing of some of the convictions that do and do not cause disenfranchisement. Worley ignored the opinion and told the county voter registrars to continue business as usual rather than training them on what the law requires. So now Worley is in court, having been sued because she would not honor what the Constitution requires.

 

Worley is correct that the voter registrars need clarification of what felonies cause disenfranchisement. Registrars are not lawyers and need legal guidance. However, Worley handled the problem all wrong. Instead of telling registrars to conduct business as usual, she should have told them to follow King's 2005 opinion. If a type of felony was not covered in that opinion, then her attorney could provide guidance until King issued the comprehensive list.

 

But Worley is par for her course. She has - again - resorted to blaming someone else for her own mistakes and errors in judgement.