The Law Governing Presidential Pardons (Essay Sample)

Student’s Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Course:
Date:
Presidential Pardons
Introduction
Opinions about presidential power from political scientists, elected officials, and citizens have differed for centuries. One presidential power that has repetitively caused controversies is presidential pardons. The historical precedent of presidential pardons has shown that, at times, the constitutional law was not followed in some cases. An example of a recent presidential pardon that caused controversies is the case of Alice Johnson. Based on the outcome of historical controversial cases concerning presidential pardons, I agree that the president has too much power.
The Law Governing Presidential Pardons
As per the Pardon Clause, the president is allowed to give out clemency or pardons. This Clause is covered in the second section of Article 2. According to Clause 1 of the discussed Section, for cases against the United States, the president can grant Pardons and Reprieves except for impeachment cases (Bomboy). However, presidential pardon powers are not unlimited because it only applies to federal crimes. The tried and convicted impeachment cases by congress cannot be issued pardons. According to a report concerning presidential pardon powers published in January 2020 by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), clemency is categorized as follows: First, when a person is given a full pardon, their wrongdoings are relieved, including restoration of any lost civil rights (Gonzales 4). The second type of clemency is commutation. Sentences allocated to the federal court can be reduced if commutation is issued. In the process of a sentence, the president is allowed to grant a reprieve for forfeitures and remitted fines.
Historical Precedent of Presidential Pardons
Since 1893, the Justice Department has handled pardons on behalf of the president. According to CRS, in the process of a pardon, the role of Congress and courts is minimal. For instance, Jimmy Hoffa, who was the former leader of Teamster, had a case in 1974 that was affected by the conditions set by President Nixon. Hoffa was not allowed to resume any position that involved union leadership. Although Judge John Pratt agreed with this decision, Hoffa felt that his right was violated according to the first amendment. In Hoffa v. Saxbe, the United States’ decision did not favor Hoffer because the president is allowed by the constitution to grant clemency. Ex parte Garland is an example of another case that involved Nixon and President Gerald Ford in 1866. President Ford pardoned Nixon for any illegal activities that might have occurred in the Watergate scandal (Aitken 1). This political scandal, which happened in 1972 -1974, forced President Nixon to resign. However, on September 8, 1974, Nixon was pardoned by his successor, President Ford (Shepard 1). The decision made by the Supreme Court in Ex parte Garland, showed that Congress's power is limited in the process of a presidential pardon.