-Caveat Lector- <http://www.ardemgaz.com/today/edi/wopOakley25.html> A presidential power abused By MEREDITH OAKLEY Every American president since the first one has used the unique power of his office to pardon a select few of those who have run afoul of the law. No doubt, such action was criticized in some quarters at the time, and some will forever be the subject of debate, if only in political science and constitutional law classes. The Constitution provides that the president "shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in case of impeachment." It is an awesome, inviolable power. Interestingly enough, it was a matter of impeachment avoided that first called attention to this unchecked authority. In the wake of the Watergate hearings, Richard M. Nixon resigned the presidency rather than face impeachment, and his hand-picked successor, Gerald R. Ford, pardoned him against any prospective prosecution as a private citizen. Believe me, that one's still a hot topic among political junkies. On several occasions, such matters have wound up before the Supreme Court of the United States. A case in point occurred during the Roaring Twenties. In deciding Ex Parte Grossman in 1925, the court was confronted with the question of how far a president's power to pardon extends. Essentially, this matter posited a conflict between offenses against the authority of the court and offenses against the authority of the government in general. The case particulars aren't all that complicated. A fellow named Philip Grossman was convicted of having violated the new National Prohibition Act and in 1920 was issued a restraining order by a federal judge to stop selling liquor. Grossman ignored the injunction and went about what no one doubts was a lucrative if illicit business. This display of contempt garnered for him a one-year term of imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. To make a long story shorter, President Calvin Coolidge commuted the penalty in 1923 to the fine of $1,000. Well, wouldn't you know it: The federal judge wasn't having any of that. Despite the commutation, he ordered Grossman to prison. Grossman then petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus, a standard means for extracting a person from legally sanctioned confinement that he might pursue due process under the law. In so doing, he forced the court to explore the extent of a president's power to pardon. The high court's definitive response was written by no less an authority than William Howard Taft, whose stint as chief justice of the United States was preceded by a stint as 27th president of the United States. Where am I going with all this? To this excerpt from that opinion: "Executive clemency exists to afford relief from undue harshness or evident mistake in the operation or enforcement of the criminal law," Taft wrote. "The administration of justice by the courts is not necessarily always wise or certainly considerate of circumstances which may properly mitigate guilt. "To afford a remedy, it has always been thought essential in popular government, as well as in monarchies, to vest in some other authority than the courts power to ameliorate or avoid particular criminal judgments. It is a check entrusted to the executive for special cases. To exercise it to the extent of destroying the deterrent effect of judicial punishment would be to prevent it; but whoever is to make it useful must have full discretion to exercise it. "Our Constitution confers this discretion on the highest officer in the nation in confidence that he will not abuse it." Has a president ever abused it? If public opinion is the gauge, the answer is yes. Some would argue that this happens every time a president thwarts the judicial process. Some of most persistently controversial grants of mercy in our history have been forged on ideological grounds, or at least could find a defense there. Modern-day examples include Jimmy Carter's pardon of those who fled the country rather than serve in the armed forces during the Vietnam War and Ford's pardon of Nixon. I seriously doubt this to be the case with respect to Bill Clinton's midnight pardons of drug traffickers, swindlers and fugitives from justice. Money, influence and access, perhaps, but never ideology. The Framers, it seems, were a very trusting lot to have conferred such discretion on the highest officer in the nation in confidence that he will not abuse it. Perhaps too trusting. Associate Editor Meredith Oakley's column appears every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. This article was published on Sunday, February 25, 2001 ================================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: *Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends ================================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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