We have it here as well but it isn’t a free for all. The President receives a list of proposed pardons that have to be vetted one by one by a legal team. Certain offenses are not eligible and only sentences below a given number of years may be pardoned.
It’s not like the man can hand out pardons on a whim.
Generally, the pardon power is meant to be a check on the legislative and judicial branch, and thus it is designed to be this powerful.
Obama used his pardon power to free individuals who were nonviolent drug offenders who got sentenced to years often for simple possession. This doesn’t mean that he didn’t use a slew of lawyers to find these cases. He very much did. But he could, literally, go through a roster of inmates and just pick random people to pardon.
Trump, if reelected, will likely pardon himself and it will need to go through the courts to see if that’s even feasible. Given the current nature of our highest court, it likely will be found constitutional.
Given the current nature of our highest court, it likely will be found constitutional.
Pretty much. From the strict text reading there is nothing about it.
and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
Justice Thompson will get a new boat from a GOP aligned group so at least so it isn’t all bad. Sure it is travesty of the justice and breaks the entire concept of no one being above or below the law but when has that stopped the Robert’s court before?
Nobody knows, including the president. Trump thought he could pardon himself. There aren’t any restrictions other than it must be a crime with federal jurisdiction, the only jurisdiction over which the president has direct power. He can even pardon people in advance.
sometimes when these systems are designed, the designers, simply didnt contemplate the crazy shit people will try that are within the systems legal bounds. for example no-one would have ever thought a prime minister would secretly swear himself into multiple minister portfolios even behind his own cabinets back, but thats exactly what the former PM of australia did (and now calls into question the things he signed off on in secret at the time).
You need a balance. You can’t have a government that can’t respond/change and you can’t have a government where whomever won the last election is now dictator whose whim is law.
A lot of this stuff was ripe for abuse since the beginning but it was only rarely abused so everyone just left it. Kinda how Vietnam war wasnt declared but went on for like a decade. The potential for that abuse of power was there since the founding days but wasn’t abused until much later.
As I said the states seem like they are moving away from it being an unchecked power so maybe one day there will be a constitutional amendment.
As an outsider, the whole “presidential pardon” system is absolute stupid and ready for abuse.
We have it here as well but it isn’t a free for all. The President receives a list of proposed pardons that have to be vetted one by one by a legal team. Certain offenses are not eligible and only sentences below a given number of years may be pardoned.
It’s not like the man can hand out pardons on a whim.
How does it work in the US?
Generally, the pardon power is meant to be a check on the legislative and judicial branch, and thus it is designed to be this powerful.
Obama used his pardon power to free individuals who were nonviolent drug offenders who got sentenced to years often for simple possession. This doesn’t mean that he didn’t use a slew of lawyers to find these cases. He very much did. But he could, literally, go through a roster of inmates and just pick random people to pardon.
Trump, if reelected, will likely pardon himself and it will need to go through the courts to see if that’s even feasible. Given the current nature of our highest court, it likely will be found constitutional.
Pretty much. From the strict text reading there is nothing about it.
Justice Thompson will get a new boat from a GOP aligned group so at least so it isn’t all bad. Sure it is travesty of the justice and breaks the entire concept of no one being above or below the law but when has that stopped the Robert’s court before?
Nobody knows, including the president. Trump thought he could pardon himself. There aren’t any restrictions other than it must be a crime with federal jurisdiction, the only jurisdiction over which the president has direct power. He can even pardon people in advance.
It is very open for abuse but historically hasn’t been abused that much. Seems like the states are moving towards making it less powerful.
The US seems to work on “I pinky swear not to abuse this” and then is shocked when that turns out poorly.
sometimes when these systems are designed, the designers, simply didnt contemplate the crazy shit people will try that are within the systems legal bounds. for example no-one would have ever thought a prime minister would secretly swear himself into multiple minister portfolios even behind his own cabinets back, but thats exactly what the former PM of australia did (and now calls into question the things he signed off on in secret at the time).
You need a balance. You can’t have a government that can’t respond/change and you can’t have a government where whomever won the last election is now dictator whose whim is law.
A lot of this stuff was ripe for abuse since the beginning but it was only rarely abused so everyone just left it. Kinda how Vietnam war wasnt declared but went on for like a decade. The potential for that abuse of power was there since the founding days but wasn’t abused until much later.
As I said the states seem like they are moving away from it being an unchecked power so maybe one day there will be a constitutional amendment.