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Once you're out

Your rights, and when you get them back

Voting depends on your state. Guns are off the table. Jury service is barred, and a passport is usually fine.

Depends on your state

Voting

A couple of states never take it away at all. Most give it back when you walk out of the facility. Some wait until supervision ends. A few make you take an extra step.

Look up your own state, because people assume they can't vote when they can.

Treat as permanent

Guns are off the table

Federal law bars possession after a felony conviction, and that includes firearms in a house you live in.

There's a restoration process on the books that Congress hasn't funded since 1992, so it isn't a real option. Courts have been fighting about how this applies to non-violent cases, and some of that is unsettled. None of it is settled enough for you to act on.

Talk to a lawyer if you're curious, and until then treat this as permanent.

This is one of the fastest ways back to prison and it's not worth testing.
Barred, with a caveat

Jury service

Federal jury service is barred by a felony conviction unless your civil rights get restored. State rules vary.

Usually fine

A passport

Generally obtainable. A narrow set of drug trafficking convictions can block one.

Getting the passport is a separate question from being allowed to travel, which is the next part.

Keep reading — part 10 of 12

Travel

You can travel once supervision ends. Canada is the one that catches people, and it catches them at the airport.

Need help with this? Just ask.

These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. Answers are free, and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer.

josh@federalprisondude.com

I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out.

Pass it on

Somebody else is two years out and stuck on the same thing. Pass it on.