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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2013
Although much has been written on the general subject of the President's pardoning power, there is still considerable confusion concerning the use of that power for the restoration of civil and political rights to persons who have been deprived of them as a punishment for crime. Particular questions frequently raised are: What rights are lost? How are they lost? How may they be restored? That the issue is a live one is supported by the fact that in the year 1938 no fewer than 203 pardons were granted by the President to restore civil rights.
The confusion on the subject is due in large measure to the complexities of our federal form of government. This was clearly noted by Attorney-General Caleb Cushing in his opinion of July 9, 1856, in the case of Oliver Robbins of Sackett's Harbor, New York. Robbins was convicted in 1851, in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of New York, of an offense against federal law, and was sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary of New York. In 1852, he received from President Fillmore a general pardon.
Two graduate students, William I. Cargo and Donovan F. Emch, assisted me in collecting materials for this article. I am greatly indebted to Daniel M. Lyons, Pardon Attorney in the Department of Justice, for invaluable information, including a copy of the rules governing applications for pardon. See also Attorney-General's Survey of Release Procedure: Vol. III, Pardon (Washington, 1939). A comprehensive bibliography is appended to this volume.
2 U. S. Attorney-General's Report, 1938, p. 205. For the immediately preceding years, the figures are: 187 in 1937; 152 in 1936; 208 in 1935. Prior to 1933, the annual reports carried lists of individual pardons, with a brief summary of the facts in each case. Since 1932, only the total numbers are given.
3 7 Opinions Attorney-General, 760–761.
4 Information supplied by Daniel M. Lyons, Pardon Attorney.
5 21 Opinions Attorney-General, 242–243. The records show that Warren was pardoned on January 17, 1896. The endorsement states that “the term of imprisonment to which this convict was sentenced having expired more than a year ago, and his conduct since his discharge having been exemplary, this pardon is granted for the purpose of restoring to him his rights of citizenship.” Annual Report of the Attorney-General of the United States for the Year 1896, p. 193.
6 Information supplied by Daniel M. Lyons, Pardon Attorney. See also Attorney-General's Survey of Release Procedure: Vol. III, Pardon, Chap. 9, “The Effects of a Pardon.” On September 22, I860, Attorney-General J. S. Black expressed the opinion that “a person convicted of an offense against the laws of the United States, which disfranchises him as a citizen, can be restored to all the rights which he had before conviction by a free and full pardon from the President of the United States.” 9 Opinions Attorney-General, 478.
7 56 Miss. 766 (1879).
8 Information supplied by Daniel M. Lyons, Pardon Attorney.
9 Rules Governing Applications for Pardon, Rule 1.
10 Ibid., Rule 5.
11 Ibid., Rule 19.
12 Ibid., Rule 6.
13 Ibid., Rule 20.
14 Revised Statutes, Sec. 1996. This punishment was mitigated for those serving until April 19, 1865; Ibid., Sec. 1997.
15 Ibid., Sec. 1998. Presidential pardons to restore rights of citizenship forfeited under this section were more numerous immediately following the World War than recently. Eleven such pardons were granted in each of the years 1921 and 1922. Only two were granted in 1938.
16 U. S. Criminal Code, Sec. 4.
17 Ibid., Sec. 19.
18 Ibid., Sec. 22.
19 Ibid., Sec. 23.
20 Ibid., Sec. 24.
21 Ibid., Secs. 25 and 26.
22 Ibid., Sec. 2.
23 Ibid., Sec. 110.
24 Ibid., Sec. 112.
25 Ibid., Sec. 113.
26 Ibid., Sec. 117.
27 Ibid., Sec. 131.
28 Ibid., Sec. 132.
29 Ibid., Sec. 129.
30 Revised Statutes, Secs. 5392 and 5393. The Criminal Code, Sec. 125, omits the part of the penalty pertinent here.
