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1957 JAG J. 7 (1957-1958)
Presidential Pardons

handle is hein.journals/naval1957 and id is 89 raw text is: PRESIDENTIAL PARDONS LIEUTENANT COMMANDER JAMES F. CHAPMAN, USN And earthly power doth then show likest God's When mercy seasons Justice. MERCHANT OF VENICE, Act 4, Scene 1. A PARDON IS a declaration on record by the Chief Magistrate of a state or a coun- try that a pcrson named is relieved from the legal consequences of a specific crime.' Every civilized country recognizes, and has therefore provided for, the pardoning power to be exercised as an act of grace and humanity in proper cases. The custom dates from remote antiquity, where the pardoning power was exer- cised only by the sovereign. This development of executive grace among the ancient rulers was but a natural consequence of their absolute power. The king was the source of all law and all justice, and like the divine monarch, could do as he pleased with his own subjects. As Justice Rokeby observed in an early English case: As he (the king) cannot but have the administra- tion of public revenge, so he cannot but have a power to remit it by his pardons, when he judges proper. -2 The absolute monarch of old has no counter- part in the modern democratic state. The exer- cise of the pardoning power today is a function or act of the state and not the personal act of the person occupying the office of the Chief Magistrate.' The president or governor who pardons today is not forgiving his own debtor, one who has trespassed against himbut a public debtor whose trespass has impaired or endan- gered the happiness of the whole community.4 Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States confers upon the President the * * * power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. The President some- times exercises this power through Presidential Proclamations of Amnesty which are usually issued for the benefit of certain classes of of- 1. Biddle v. Perovich, 274 U. S. 480, 1927. 2. Dr. Groenvelt's Case, 91 English Reports (Reprint), 1038, 1697. 3. Jamison v. Flanner, 116 Kat. 624, 228 P. 82, 1924. 4. Proceedings of the Annual Congress of the National Prison Asso- ciation. 1907. fenders5 These proclamations speak for them- selves and have the effect of a full and unconditional pardon to all of those within the class. No formal petitions are required for par- dons of this type, and no certificates of pardon are issued in such cases. All petitions for Presi- dential pardons from individuals are processed through the pardon attorney in the Department of Justice. Every type of pardon has its own particular denomination, as pointed out in the following language of Mr. Justice Wayne: Such a thing as a pardon without a designation of its kind, is not known in the law. Time out of mind, in the earliest books of the English law, every pardon has its particular denomination. They are gen- eral, special, or particular, conditional, or abso- lute, statutory, not necessary in some cases, and in some, grantable of course. ' Although pardons are of many denomina- tions, as above indicated, the type of pardon chiefly applicable to persons seeking executive clemency for conviction of offenses at the hands of Courts-Martial is the Pardon After Comple- tion of Sentence, which has as its object the restoration of civil rights, both federal and state. It is the scope of this article to discuss only this type of pardon, and not other types, such as pardons based on innocence. Pardons After Completion of Sentence were formerly known as Pardons to Restore Civil Rights, and are based upon- the good behavior and evidence of reform exhibited by the peti- tioner after his completion of sentence. Rules promulgated by the Department of Justice pro- vide that a petition for pardon after completion of sentence will not be processed unless the peti- tioner has been released from custody not less than three years and is not on parole or proba- tion. In cases of perjury, subornation of per- jury, or violation of a public trust, crimes involving personal dishonesty, or other crimes of a serious nature, the lapse of five years after release is usually required.- These rules fur- 5. Attention is invited to the following Presidential Proclamations of Amnesty: Proc. of 24 Dec. 1945, 10 FR 15409; Proc. of 23 Dec. 1947, 12 FR 8731; Proc. of 24 Dec. 1952, 17 FR 11833. 6. Ex Porte William Wells, 59 U. S. 357, 1855. 7. Department of Justice Rules Governing Petitions for Executive Clemency of 19 January 1946. MAY 1957

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