President Grants Federal Pardon
After Phoebe Park was convicted of a federal tax offense, the President issued a pardon before sentencing. The pardon eliminated all punishment and restored her civil rights without any further proceedings.
Also known as: pardons · pardoned · pardoning · pardonable · clemency
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A formal act by the chief executive that nullifies the punishment or other legal consequences of a crime. The act removes the conviction's effects for most purposes once granted on grounds of rehabilitation or innocence.
After Phoebe Park was convicted of a federal tax offense, the President issued a pardon before sentencing. The pardon eliminated all punishment and restored her civil rights without any further proceedings.
Pamela Phillips testified in a civil negligence trial. The opposing party sought to use her prior felony conviction for impeachment, but a governor's pardon based on her completion of a rehabilitation program prevented its admission because she had no later serious conviction.
Priscilla Parks was called as a witness in a contract dispute. Counsel attempted to impeach her with an old conviction, but the court excluded it after learning that a pardon had been granted on the explicit ground that laboratory evidence proved she was innocent of the underlying offense.
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Pavel Petrov faced removal proceedings based on a prior conviction. His attorney advised that a presidential pardon would eliminate the conviction for immigration purposes, allowing him to remain in the country without further deportation risk.
Piper Patel received a life sentence as a habitual offender with no parole eligibility. The court noted that the governor retained authority to grant a pardon or commute the sentence, providing the only avenue for relief if she demonstrated rehabilitation.
Philip Powell was convicted by a military tribunal during a national emergency. The court observed that a subsequent pardon from the executive could provide relief even if the underlying proceedings were later questioned, avoiding the need to unwind the entire judgment.
Yes. Under the evidence rules, a conviction is inadmissible for impeachment when it has been the subject of a pardon based on a finding of rehabilitation and the person has no later conviction punishable by more than one year.
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The conviction becomes inadmissible for impeachment. The rule treats such a pardon as eliminating the conviction's value for attacking credibility because the official determination of innocence undercuts any inference about the witness's character for truthfulness.
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No. The constitutional grant of pardon power is broad and cannot be restricted by Congress. It applies before, during, or after trial and extends to criminal contempt but not civil contempt.
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…were not made in the heat of passion, id. , at 14, and that they were not "extracted from [him] upon any hopes or promise of Pardon," id. , at 29. It is not plausible that the Framers' only objection to the trial was that Raleigh's judges did not properly weigh these factors before sentencing him to death. Rather, the…