Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Democracy and the Constitution Clinic
Publication Date
2021
Abstract
The presidential pardon power can serve valuable purposes, but the lack of checks on the power invites abuses. This report calls for laws and executive orders to curtail misuses of the pardon power. Congress should pass laws banning the president from pardoning himself or herself and issuing pardons for conduct that has not yet occurred. Executive orders should set detailed procedures for considering pardons and require reports to Congress if the president pardons a family member or close associate.
Recommended Citation
Milana Bretgoltz, Albert Ford, and Alicia Serrani,
An Absolute Power, or A Power Absolutely in Need of Reform? Proposals to Reform the Presidential Pardon Power
(2021)
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/faculty_scholarship/1110
