[EL] More on case with 5-year sentence for double voting (from ELB News and Commentary 7/18/13)

Thu Jul 18 15:18:01 PDT 2013

Under the federal sentencing guidelines voting more than once is 6 points.
With abuse of position (2 points) and criminal history (?) she could double
that, but it would take a lot to get more than a year and a half.  (I defer
to anyone who haas actually used the guidelines in the last 10 years)
Five years is a whole lot of time and money, and she will not be a better
person when she gets out.

On Thu, Jul 18, 2013 at 6:00 PM, Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu> wrote:

>  If there is mental illness involved, I would be interested in knowing
> whether such information was presented to the judge as a mitigating factor
> in sentencing.
>
>
> On 7/18/13 2:45 PM, John White wrote:
>
>  What sentence did the prosecutor request?****
>
> ** **
>
> The comments by the prosecutor in the local news link [
> http://news.cincinnati.com/videonetwork/2551559808001?nclick_check=1 ]
> state that she used her knowledge of the system to conceal the misconduct,
> apparently over a course of years.  If election officials who abuse their
> positions of trust are not held to account, who will be?  I’d analogize the
> “harsh” sentence to what happens when tax lawyers or CPAs use their
> specialized knowledge to perpetrate tax fraud.  The prosecutors don’t like
> it and long sentences are sought for the deterrent effect.  Judges are
> tougher on criminals who use specialized knowledge or abuse positions of
> trust to commit crimes, and they should be.  ****
>
> ** **
>
> The comments at the end of the excerpt, posted to the list previously,
> from an attorney for the election board made clear that investigating the
> fraud took significant work.  The defendant also apparently blamed a lack
> of training by the elections board for her actions, based on that
> attorney’s comments.****
>
> ** **
>
> Based on the limited information available, I’m not troubled by the
> sentence.  I’d be interested in seeing an excerpt of the hearing that
> included more of the defendant’s statement.  The local press described her
> as “unrepentant.”****
>
> ** **
>
> John J. White, Jr.
> white at lfa-law.com
> (425) 822-9281 ext. 321 ****
>
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>  ****
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> *From:* law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [
> mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu<law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>]
> *On Behalf Of *Rob Richie
> *Sent:* Thursday, July 18, 2013 1:17 PM
> *To:* Election Law; Bill Collins
> *Subject:* [EL] More on case with 5-year sentence for double voting (from
> ELB News and Commentary 7/18/13)****
>
> ** **
>
> A friend of mine, Bill Collins of Cincinnati, sent me and email about the
> Ohio case involving a five-year prison term for voting on behalf of her
> sister in several recent elections despite her sister being in a coma.****
>
> ** **
>
> I'm no defender of voter fraud, but I question this sentence and the
> apparent behavior of the judge. Bill is copied on this message in case
> anyone has more questions about the case.****
>
> ** **
>
> As an aside, I'll note has a practice where many people delegate their
> vote to others to cast as a proxy. Voting by mail is not done in
> presidential elections (and only done for parliamentary elections for the
> first time last year), so someone away from home instead gives a formal
> letter to someone allowing them to cast their vote. Turnout in presidential
> races is more than 80%.  It just shows how norms can be different in
> different nations. They see absentee voting as potentially ripe with fraud,
> and I assume many Americans wouldn't like the idea of this voting-by-proxy.
> ****
>
> ** **
>
> - Rob Richie****
>
> ** **
>
> #################****
>
> *From: *Bill Collins <bcollins1 at cinci.rr.com>
> *Date: *Thursday, July 18, 2013 10:23 AM****
>
> ** **
>
> Good morning.  It is so sad to read about the sentencing of Madisonville
> resident Mae Richardson to a five-year prison term, and the outrageous,
> bullying, racism verbal attack on her by Judge Robert Ruehlman at the
> sentencing hearing. See
> http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130717/NEWS0107/307170089/Illegal-voter-gets-5-year-prison-term?gcheck=1
> ****
>
> ** **
>
> I hope that individuals in Madisonville will speak out against Judge
> Ruehlman's sentence of Mae and the judge's outrageous behavior in court
> yesterday.  Below are the comments I just posted on
> http://www.cincinnati.com. ****
>
> ** **
>
> Best regards, ****
>
> ** **
>
> Bill Collins****
>
> Phone: (513) 271-4425****
>
> - - - - -****
>
> ** **
>
> This long sentence for Mae Richardson is an outrage.
>
> I know Mae. She is a likeable but prickly and difficult personality. She
> is an eccentric person, for sure, and her bizarre statement yesterday at
> the court sentencing clearly shows that. It's obvious that Mae needs
> professional help.
>
> Judge Ruehlman's mocking treatment of her, in response, was an outrage.
> After all those years on the bench, doesn't Judge Ruehlman recognize mental
> illness? Is he THAT dense as to not see the evidence of mental illness
> standing before him at the bench?
>
> - - - - - - -
> Anybody who knows and observes Mae closely knows that she is a black woman
> who needs psychiatric help, and does not need a bullying, self-righteous
> lecture by a white judge from the bench at the time that he is sending her
> off to jail for five years. The judge has the power; Mae has no power. The
> judge's trashing Mae from the bench as he sends her to jail for five years
> is the worst kind of bullying, and yes the worst kind of state-sanctioned
> racism.
>
> What Mae needs, and has needed for a long time, is some good mental-health
> services. Sending her to a regular prison with other female inmates will
> make her condition worse. PLEASE. The courts system needs to stop this
> outrage, sentence Mae to an appropriate sentence and get her some
> mental-health services. I hope for the best, but fear that the system -- if
> left unchecked -- will destroy Mae Richardson.
>
> This is an OUTRAGE! The American people are not cruel people. Melowese
> (Mae) Richardson deserves better and we deserve better than this sort of
> state-sanctioned bullying, cruelty and racism meted out by Hamilton County
> Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Ruehlman.****
>
> ** **
>
> On Thu, Jul 18, 2013 at 11:46 AM, Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu> wrote:**
> **
>
>  Melowese Richardson Gets Five Year Term for Illegal Voting<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53138>
> ****
>
> Posted on July 18, 2013 8:28 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=53138> by Rick
> Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3> ****
>
> See here<http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201307171724/NEWS0107/307170089&nclick_check=1>.
> This is a significant sentence for some serious misconduct, including
> voting her sister’s vote, who has been in a coma since 2003.  Although the
> poll worker accepted a plea deal, she was unrepentant:****
>
> “I think the board has shown me nothing but total disrespect for the 30
> years I’ve served them,” she told the judge. “I believe in the system and
> I’ve done nothing to harm the system or cause disgrace to President Obama.”
> ****
>
> The conservative, outspoken judge responded with scathing comments,
> blasting Richardson for suggesting she was being prosecuted because she was
> a black Democrat helping a black Democratic presidential candidate.****
>
> “It has nothing to do with race. It has nothing to do with politics. It
> has nothing to do with disrespecting you. You did this to yourself,”
> Ruehlman told her.****
>
> “You’re very selfish, self-centered. I really believe President Obama, if
> he were asked about this today, he would be appalled. He would not want
> anybody to cheat to get elected.”****
>
>  ****
>
>  --
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> "Respect for Every Vote and Every Voice"
>
> Rob Richie
> Executive Director
>
> FairVote
> 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 610
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>
> --
> Rick Hasen
> Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
> UC Irvine School of Law
> 401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
> Irvine, CA 92697-8000949.824.3072 - office949.824.0495 - faxrhasen at law.uci.edu
> hhttp://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/http://electionlawblog.org
>
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