Simpson Thacher Argues Before Fifth Circuit Sitting En Banc in Mississippi Voting Rights Litigation
01.24.24
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On January 23, 2024, Simpson Thacher argued before the Fifth Circuit sitting en banc with a full complement of 19 judges in the ongoing Hopkins v. Watson litigation challenging the constitutionality of Mississippi’s lifetime voting ban for people with disqualifying criminal convictions. Litigation Department Co-Chair Jon Youngwood argued the appeal. The en banc sitting follows an August 2023 ruling by a three-judge panel of the court (with one judge dissenting) that held the law was a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.”
The Simpson Thacher team also included Janet Gochman, Nihara Choudhri, Charlotte McCary, Sareen Armani and Albert Tagliaferri.
Jon’s argument before the court was covered by the Associated Press, which was republished by The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, ABC News, Yahoo! News, U.S. News & World Report, The Hill, MSN and others. Jon was also featured on Mississippi Public Broadcast Think Radio’s Mississippi Edition, where he shared key takeaways from the hearing and discussed the importance of the case. The arguments were also covered by a number of other publications including Bloomberg Law, Law360 and Mississippi Today, among others.