Another judge "legislating from the bench"

In another case of a judge legislating from the bench at the instigation of the local state chapter of the ACLU, King County Superior Court Judge Michael Spearman ruled that, "[c]onvicted felons who have served their time but owe court-imposed fines cannot be denied the right to vote[.]"

Yes, they can be denied the right to vote, Judge. It is Washington State law. The Washington State Constitution states:

SECTION 3 WHO DISQUALIFIED. All persons convicted of infamous crime unless restored to their civil rights and all persons while they are judicially declared mentally incompetent are excluded from the elective franchise. [AMENDMENT 83, 1988 House Joint Resolution No. 4231, p 1553. Approved November 8, 1988.] [Emphasis mine]

SECTION 7 REGISTRATION. The legislature shall enact a registration law, and shall require a compliance with such law before any elector shall be allowed to vote; Provided, that this provision is not compulsory upon the legislature except as to cities and towns having a population of over five hundred inhabitants. In all other cases the legislature may or may not require registration as a pre-requisite to the right to vote, and the same system of registration need not be adopted for both classes. [Emphasis mine]

So, the Washington State Constitution states that a convicted felon must first have their voting rights restored before they are eligible to vote, and that it is the State Legislature - not a county Superior Court judge - who will enact the laws regulating who can vote.

The law in question, that the judge summarily pre-empted by judicial fiat, is:

RCW 29A.08.520
Felony conviction — Restoration of voting rights. (Effective January 1, 2006.)
(1) Upon receiving official notice of a person's conviction of a felony in either state or federal court, if the convicted person is a registered voter in the county, the county auditor shall cancel the defendant's voter registration. Additionally, the secretary of state in conjunction with the department of corrections, the Washington state patrol, the office of the administrator for the courts, and other appropriate state agencies shall arrange for a quarterly comparison of a list of known felons with the statewide voter registration list. If a person is found on a felon list and the statewide voter registration list, the secretary of state or county auditor shall confirm the match through a date of birth comparison and suspend the voter registration from the official state voter registration list. The canceling authority shall send to the person at his or her last known voter registration address a notice of the proposed cancellation and an explanation of the requirements for restoring the right to vote once all terms of sentencing have been completed. If the person does not respond within thirty days, the registration must be canceled.
(2) The right to vote may be restored by, for each felony conviction, one of the following:
(a) A certificate of discharge issued by the sentencing court, as provided in RCW 9.94A.637;
(b) A court order restoring the right, as provided in RCW 9.92.066;
(c) A final order of discharge issued by the indeterminate sentence review board, as provided in RCW 9.96.050; or
(d) A certificate of restoration issued by the governor, as provided in RCW 9.96.020.
[2005 c 246 § 15; 2004 c 267 § 126; 2003 c 111 § 233. Prior: 1994 c 57 § 42. Formerly RCW 29.10.097.]

In the case in which Judge Spearman ruled, the local chapter of the ACLU sued on behalf of three people who had been convicted of crimes, but who had not had their voting rights restored due to outstanding debt, which they are making payments on - commendable on their part, since they are listed in the article as being indigent - the judge, as authorized by the above law, could simply have restored their individual voting rights by court order. But no, Judge Spearman in his "infinite judicial wisdom" decided that the above law is invalid, and therefore null and void.

Since when did Judge Spearman get elected to the State Legislature? I didn't see him listed anywhere as being either a State Representative, or a State Senator, so the obvious answer to this is never.

Since when have judges been allowed to "legislate from the bench"? Apparently for too long around here, since Judge Spearman thinks he can do just that.

State Attorney General Ron McKenna hasn't said whether or not he will appeal this decision, but he should! Judges have been, for too long now, allowed to "legislate from the bench", and this needs to stop now! McKenna must appeal this decision to the State Supreme Court, and they need to put Spearman in his place - which is a judge, not a legislator!