RYAN AUSTIN POWERS
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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Ryan Austin Powers appeals his conviction for felony fleeing/eluding and methamphetamine possession. The Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction, with Justice Cohen issuing a special concurrence addressing the intersection of Amendment 4 voting rights restoration and state-imposed incarceration cost liabilities.
The conviction is affirmed. Justice Cohen's special concurrence emphasizes that under the Florida Supreme Court's Advisory Opinion on Amendment 4, the phrase 'all terms' includes repayment of all costs and fees, meaning most felons cannot fully satisfy their sentence completion requirements due to substantial financial obligations.
“upon completion of all terms of sentence including parole or probation”
The standard for voting rights restoration under Amendment 4, interpreted to include payment of all costs and fees associated with a sentence.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePowers was sentenced to seven years in prison for felony fleeing or attempting to elude and five years for possession of methamphetamine. The trial co…
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PER CURIAM.
AFFIRMED.
EVANDER, C.J., and WALLIS, J., concur. COHEN, J., concurs specially, with opinion.
CASE NO. 5D19-2353 COHEN, J., concurring specially.
On November 6, 2018, Florida voters passed an amendment to the Florida Constitution that restores voting rights to some convicted felons “upon completion of all terms of sentence including parole or probation.” Art. VI, § 4(a), Fla. Const. Our supreme court recently issued Advisory Opinion to Governor re Implementation of Amendment 4, The Voting Restoration Amendment, 45 Fla. L. Weekly S10 (Fla. Jan. 16, 2020), which held that the phrase “all terms” includes the repayment of all costs and fees associated with a felon’s sentence.
Here, the trial court imposed the costs of Powers’s incarceration pursuant to section 960.293(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2019), which provides that a defendant incarcerated for a felony other than a capital or life felony is liable for incarceration costs and other correctional costs, liquidated at $50 per day. In Powers’s case, his seven-year imprisonment resulted in incarceration costs of $127,750.1 It is clear that absent any action from the Florida Legislature or another constitutional amendment, Amendment 4 will not truly serve to restore the eligibility of most felons to vote. 1 Powers was sentenced to seven years in prison for felony fleeing or attempting to elude and five years in prison for possession of methamphetamine.
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Powers v. State, 45 Fla. L. Weekly S10 (Fla. 5th DCA 2020)
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- Powers v. State, 45 Fla. L. Weekly S10 (Fla. 5th DCA 2020)