Jamin Raskin, JD Biography
- Title:
- Professor of Law and Director of the Law and Government Program at the Washington College of Law at American University
- Position:
- Pro to the question "Should Felons Who Have Completed Their Sentence (Incarceration, Probation, and Parole) Be Allowed to Vote?"
- Reasoning:
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“Felon disenfranchisement is obviously not a strategy of penal deterrence, for it deters no one; or individual rehabilitation, for it clearly educates and reforms no one; or even meaningful punishment, as it is not part of sentencing but is simply imposed on all convicts, regardless of the character of their offense. Rather, it is a strategy of mass electoral suppression, a point that becomes especially vivid when we consider that 1.7 million former offenders have been permanently disenfranchised in eight states, disproportionately in the Deep South….
A right-to-vote constitutional amendment could enfranchise all people who have been convicted of felonies and stripped of their voting rights or the subgroup of ex-offenders in eight states who have successfully served their time but still remain disenfranchised…. This commonsense proposal likely would pass.”
“Lawful Disenfranchisement: America’s Structural Democracy Deficit,” Human Rights magazine, Spring 2005
- Theoretical Expertise Ranking:
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Experts
Individuals with PhD's, JD's, or equivalent advanced degrees in fields relevant to felon voting issues. Also top-level government officials (such as foreign leaders, US presidents, Founding Fathers, Supreme Court Justices, members of legislative bodies, cabinet members, military leaders, etc.) with positions relevant to felon voting issues. - Involvement and Affiliations:
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- Professor of Law, Director of the Law and Government Program, Washington College of Law at American University, 1990-Present
- Board Member, Public Justice Center, MD, Present
- Elected Kerry-Edwards Delegate to the Democratic National Convention, 2004
- Scholar-Teacher of the Year, American University, 2000
- Chairman, Maryland State Higher Education Labor Relations Board, 1999
- Founder, Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, 1999
- Clinton-Gore Transition Team, 1992
- Member, Takoma Park Redistricting Task Force, 1990
- General Counsel, National Rainbow Coalition, 1989-1990
- Assistant Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1987-1989
- Editor, Harvard Law Review, 1987
- Teaching Fellow, Harvard University Government Department, 1985-1987
- Board Member, FairVote, Takoma Park, MD, 1985-1987
- Benjamin A. Trustman Travelling Fellowship, 1983-1984
- Presidential Scholarship (awarded by the White House under President Carter), 1979
- Education:
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- JD, magna cum laude, Harvard Law School, 1987
- BA, magna cum laude, Harvard College, 1983
- Other:
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- None found
- Quoted in: