United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

____________ FILED July 18, 2024 No. 19-60662 Lyle W. Cayce ____________ Clerk Dennis Hopkins, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated; Herman Parker, Jr., individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated; Walter Wayne Kuhn, Jr., individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated; Bryon Demond Coleman, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated; Jon O’Neal, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated; Earnest Willhite, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated,

Plaintiffs—Appellees,

versus Secretary of State Michael Watson, in his official capacity,

Defendant—Appellant,

consolidated with _____________

No. 19-60678 _____________ Dennis Hopkins, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated; Herman Parker, Jr., individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated; Walter Wayne Kuhn, Jr., individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated; Jon O’Neal, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated; Earnest Willhite, individually and on behalf of a class of all others Case: 19-60662 Document: 307-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 07/18/2024

similarly situated; Bryon Demond Coleman, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated,

Plaintiffs—Appellees Cross-Appellants,

versus Secretary of State Michael Watson, in his official capacity,

Defendant—Appellant Cross-Appellee. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi USDC No. 3:18-CV-188 ______________________________

ON PETITION FOR REHEARING EN BANC Before Richman, Chief Judge, King, Jones, Smith, Stewart, Dennis, Elrod, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson, Douglas, and Ramirez, Circuit Judges. Edith H. Jones, Circuit Judge, joined by Richman, Chief Judge, and Smith, Elrod, Southwick, Haynes *, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, Wilson, and Ramirez † Circuit Judges This en banc court convened to reconsider a panel decision holding that Section 241 of the Mississippi Constitution, which disenfranchises those convicted of certain felony offenses, 1 fails the test of the Eighth Amendment,

_____________________ * Judge Haynes concurs in the judgment only. † Judge Ramirez concurs in the judgment only. 1 This court recently upheld the same provision against another constitutional challenge predicated on racial discrimination in Harness v. Watson, 47 F.4th 296, 311 (5th Cir. 2022) (en banc), cert. denied, 143 S. Ct. 2426 (2023).

2 Case: 19-60662 Document: 307-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 07/18/2024

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