CONSTITUTIONAL LAW—I BEG YOUR PARDON: EX PARTE GARLAND OVERRULED; THE PRESIDENTIAL PARDON IS NO LONGER UNLIMITED

Authors

Zachary J. Broughton

Abstract

President Trump’s August 2017 pardon of Joseph Arpaio for his contempt of court conviction raised the constitutional question of whether there are any limitations to the president’s pardoning power. In the 1867 seminal case, Ex parte Garland, the Supreme Court opined that the president is the only person who can limit the pardon power, and that a pardon can be issued before, during, or after conviction. Since the late 1800s, however, several cases handed down by the Supreme Court have, in some way, identified a limitation to the pardon power. Therefore, this Note argues that the president’s pardon power is limited, and that Garland’s statement of a plenary pardon power has been overruled.

Recommended Citation

Zachary J. Broughton, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW—I BEG YOUR PARDON: EX PARTE GARLAND OVERRULED; THE PRESIDENTIAL PARDON IS NO LONGER UNLIMITED, 41 W. New Eng. L. Rev. 183 (2019), https://digitalcommons.law.wne.edu/lawreview/vol41/iss1/7