Convicted Criminal Sen. Ted Stevens Still Assured at Least One Vote
Luckily for Sen. Ted Stevens — who was recently found guilty on seven counts of violating ethics laws and one count of being a disagreeable old crank –the Alaska Division of Elections has ruled that he' still allowed to vote for himself in his upcoming bid for re-election…
Alaska law states that convicted felons are barred from voting if their crime is one of "moral turpitude," which in Alaska includes a wide swath of illegal activities. "Receiving a bribe" is listed among them, although the state government set up a special review of the Stevens case.
In a decision released Wednesday night, the Alaska Division of Elections announced that the senator's crimes were, in fact, of moral turpitude but that a guilty verdict wasn't enough to make him a convicted felon for purposes of voting.
Until February, when he's sentenced — and thus "convicted," according to a more formal definition — he'll be able to exercise his right to vote.
That is assuming Stevens even wants to vote for himself.
Given the hard stance he's taken against criminals, that's certainly not a given.
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dave w i believe if he gets reelected and goes to jail the governor(palin) gets to choose his successor just as the governor of illinois would choose obama's successor. let's hope he doesn't get reelected.
So, can someone enlighten us as to what happens if he's convicted and reelected? What if the judge gives him probation before judgment? What if he's given community service, such as serving his term as US Senator for six years?
No, this is the correct decision. Conviction occurs when the court accepts the jury verdict and enters it as the judgment of the court, and then a sentence for that conviction must be imposed. These are discrete events that do not have to be concurrent, i.e., Judge Sullivan could enter the verdict today or Monday, but the normal criminal jurisprudential procedure is for the court to enter the verdict and sentence at the same hearing.
Who knew? I thought when you went back to get your sentence, you were being "sentenced" because you had already been convicted. It's doesn't matter what sentence they give him, it could be just probation, he's still already been convicted. http://straighttalkonmccain.blogspot.com/
What do you have to do to be denied your vote in Alaska, be black? I get the feeling we are going to see four more years of Senator Stevens Alaska (R).