Pardons and Autopen Signatures: A 2024 Appellate Decision Says Pardons Don't Have to Be Signed (or Even Written) at All
[UPDATE: I note a contrary argument in an update at the end of this post.]
Pardons
In Trump's Revenge Fantasy, Biden Did Not Actually Pardon Members of the January 6 Committee
The president says those legislators are "subject to investigation at the highest level," notwithstanding their pardons and the Speech or Debate Clause.
Mel Gibson Controversy Highlights a Bigger Scandal: Many Americans Lose Their Gun Rights for No Good Reason
Millions of people are barred from owning firearms even though they have no history of violence, and they have essentially no recourse under current law.
Rachel Barkow: Did Trump and Biden Turn Pardons Into a Corrupt Joke?
Presidential pardons have become a tool of favoritism and politics.
Preserve the Mercy of Pardon Power, Even If Presidents Misuse It
While overturning sentences through courts can take years, a grant of clemency is instantaneous.
The Case Against Ross Ulbricht Was About Government Power
President Donald Trump's pardon of the Silk Road creator is a rare moment of reprieve in an era of relentless government expansion.
FBI Nominee Kash Patel, Who Vowed To 'Come After' Trump's Enemies, Disclaims 'Retributive Actions'
At his confirmation hearing, the president's pick to run the nation's leading law enforcement agency ran away from his record as a MAGA zealot.
Trump's Orders Feature Nonexistent Emergencies, Illegal Power Grabs, and Blatant Inconsistencies
But at least he restored respect for a tariff-loving predecessor by renaming a mountain.
The Country's Largest Police Union, Which Repeatedly Endorsed Trump, Is Dismayed by His Capitol Riot Pardons
The Fraternal Order of Police mistakenly thought that the president "supports our law enforcement officers" and "has our backs."
Biden and Trump Show Presidents How To Abuse Clemency
Biden’s preemptive pardons and Trump’s blanket relief for Capitol rioters both set dangerous precedents.
Trump's Blanket Clemency for Capitol Rioters Excuses Political Violence
The president drew no distinction between people who merely entered the building and people who vandalized it or assaulted police officers.
Biden's Preemptive Pardons Undermine Official Accountability and the Rule of Law
His last-minute acts of clemency invite Trump and future presidents to shield their underlings from the consequences of committing crimes in office.
Do You Feel Equal Yet?
Plus: Fauci preemptively pardoned, hostages released, Inauguration Day, and more...
Helen Prejean: Why This Nun Is Fighting To End the Death Penalty
Billy Binion speaks to Sister Helen Prejean about her activism to end the death penalty, as depicted in her book Dead Man Walking.
Biden Commutes Nearly All Federal Death Penalty Sentences
Biden preserved the death sentences of three mass murderers but commuted the sentences of 37 other federal death row inmates to life in prison.
Trump's January 6 Pardons Could Address Some Real Injustices
The president-elect makes valid points in highlighting potential abuses of prosecutorial power.
Biden's Messy Mercy
Plus: A listener asks the editors to consider the tradeoffs of involuntary commitments to mental institutions.
Was the Supreme Court Wrong About Presidential Immunity?
Glenn Greenwald and Elizabeth Price Foley debate Trump v. United States and its implications for presidential powers.
Biden Shouldn't Have Commuted the Sentence of a Judge in the 'Kids for Cash' Kickback Scandal
But that shouldn't detract from the many worthy people who received commutations after spending years on home confinement.
Biden Issues More Pardons and Commutations Under Pressure From Criminal Justice Groups
Biden commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 federal offenders who had been serving the remainder of their sentences on home confinement after being released from prison during COVID-19.
Biden Faces Mounting Pressure To Clear Federal Death Row and Issue More Commutations After Pardoning His Son
Civil rights groups, law enforcement officials, and religious leaders say Biden needs to use his pardon power to fulfill his campaign promises, not just help his son.
After Hunter's Pardon, Joe Biden Should Support De-Weaponizing Government Power
Maybe we can all agree that government officials shouldn’t target political enemies.
The President Still Has Time To Show His Mercy Extends Beyond His Own Son
The draconian penalties that Hunter Biden escaped affect many people whose fathers cannot save them.
Hunter Biden's Pardon Features Several Shades of Hypocrisy, Including the Gun Policy Implications
Joe Biden says his son did not deserve prison for violating firearm laws that the president vigorously defends and has made more severe.
Biden's Final Insult to Our Intelligence
Plus: A listener asks the editors about the libertarian position on doctor-assisted suicide.
Joe Biden Rarely Issues Pardons but Made an Exception for His Son
Biden continues a modern trend of presidents who are stingy with the pardon pen.
Joe Pardons Hunter
Plus: Media figures and politicians react to the news, Donald Trump appoints Kash Patel to head the FBI, and more...
Unlike Biden and Trump, Kamala Harris Has Repeatedly Supported Pot Legalization
The presumptive Democratic nominee has a more liberal drug policy record than both the president and the Republican presidential nominee.
President Biden Should Pardon D.M. Bennett
Issuing a posthumous pardon for Bennett would reaffirm our nation’s commitment to free expression and intellectual freedom.
Maryland Governor To Issue Mass Pardon to More Than 100,000 Marijuana Offenders
The blanket pardon is one of the largest yet, and another sign of the collapse of public support for marijuana prohibition.
Biden Decries a 'Failed Approach to Marijuana' but Sticks With It
Rescheduling does not resolve the conflict between federal pot prohibition and state rejection of that policy.
Kamala Harris Implausibly Claims Biden's Marijuana Pardons Number in the 'Tens of Thousands'
The vice president's exaggeration reflects a pattern of dishonesty in the administration's pitch to voters who oppose the war on weed.
Daniel Perry's Pardon Makes a Mockery of Self-Defense
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott takes a tactic from the progressive prosecutors he says he opposes.
Biden's Spin on Marijuana's Rescheduling Exaggerates Its Practical Impact
Contrary to the president's rhetoric, moving marijuana to Schedule III will leave federal pot prohibition essentially unchanged.
The Untested Self-Pardon
Plus: Hunter's guns, AI replacing dating, East German cars, and more...
Rescheduling Marijuana Does Not Address Today's Central Cannabis Issue
Moving marijuana to Schedule III, as the DEA plans to do, leaves federal pot prohibition essentially untouched.
Biden's Inaccurate and Inadequate Lip Service to Marijuana Reform Ignores Today's Central Cannabis Issue
The president has not expunged marijuana records or decriminalized possession, which in any case would fall far short of the legalization that voters want.
The Best of Reason: Commander in Chains: 7 Scenarios If Trump Is Jailed and Wins the Election
There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents an inmate from winning the presidency.
Rudy Carey Was Pardoned, but the Unjust Law That Kept Him From Working Is Still on the Books
Virginia’s barrier crime law limits employment prospects for ex-offenders, who often find their way back into the penal system when they can’t find work.
Commander in Chains: 7 Scenarios If Trump Is Jailed and Wins the Election
There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents an inmate from winning the presidency.
What If Trump is Convicted?
My new article in the print issue of Reason on how things could get weird
Biden Is Trying To Motivate Voters Who Oppose Pot Prohibition. Maybe He Should Stop Supporting It.
The supposedly reformed drug warrior's intransigence on the issue complicates his appeal to young voters, who overwhelmingly favor legalization.
Tennessee Says Residents Can't Vote If They Have Lost Their Gun Rights
People who were disenfranchised based on felony convictions face a new obstacle to recovering their voting rights.
Biden Expands Pardons for Marijuana Possession
It's a commendable, but very modest, expansion of a step he took last year.
