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Trivialized Use of Presidential Pardon Power Continues Under Obama
After almost two years in office, President Obama finally granted his first pardons on December 3, 2010 – all nine of them – barely avoiding George W. Bush’s record for the longest delay by a president in granting clemency.
Each of the nine pardons were for very old, minor offenses, ...
Each of the nine pardons were for very old, minor offenses, ...
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More from this issue:
- Contributions to California Politicians Rewarded with Lucrative Private Prison Contracts
- Prison Pays: Geo Corp Profits from Half-Way House Murder and Mayhem in Texas, by Craig Malisow
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Felon Disenfranchisement Statute Does Not Violate Voting Rights Act, by Brandon Sample
- Sixth Circuit OK’s Federal Judge’s Membership in Racist and Sexist Country Club
- Ninth Circuit Rules PLRA Requires Exhaustion Even if Prison Grievance Process Cannot Provide Monetary Relief
- California: Continued Resistance Among Prisoners and Prison Officials Alike Slows Attempts to End Housing Segregation, by Michael Brodheim
- Inadequate Medical Care in Texas Jails Kills Hundreds of Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire, by Robert Perkinson, Metropolitan Books/Holt, 484 pp (October 2010), $20.00 paperback, by Lance Tapley
- Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides More Than Four Times National Average, by Mark Wilson
- Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Retires in Wake of DUI Arrest
- Practice of Jailing Parents Who Owe Child Support Raises Questions, Concerns, by Matthew Clarke
- Report Documents Scope of Prosecutorial Misconduct in California, by Michael Brodheim
- California Jury Awards Native American Prisoner $150 on Due Process Property Claim
- Jailing for Debt on the Rise, by Matthew Clarke
- Two California Prisoners Die as a Result of Doctor’s Negligence, by Derek Gilna
- No Interlocutory Appeal from Denial of Motion for Reconsideration; $6,000 Settlement in New York Jail Abuse Case
- CA Inspector General Finds 15 of 17 Prisons Demonstrate Low Adherence to Established Medical Policies and Procedures, by Michael Brodheim
- Wisconsin DOC Settles Transgender Prisoner’s Lawsuit
- Juvenile Justice Expert Condemns Rhode Island’s Jailing of Students for Minor Offenses, by Derek Gilna
- Staff Smuggle Drugs and Porn to Washington Civil Commitment Prisoners, by Mark Wilson
- Mississippi Governor Grants Early Release to Scott Sisters, by Derek Gilna
- CCA Prisoner Awarded $3,250 in Excessive Force Lawsuit
- Trivialized Use of Presidential Pardon Power Continues Under Obama, by Brandon Sample
- Homeless Probationer’s Violation for Failure to Comply with GPS Monitoring Reversed
- Virginia ACLU Requests DOJ Investigation into Jail Deaths, by Mark Wilson
- Mexican Prison Officials Arm and Release Prisoners for Hit Squad Duties, by Matthew Clarke
- Texas Prison Guard One of "America’s Dumbest Criminals”
- Select Legal Topics, by Andrew J. Schatkin, 
University Press of America, 625 pp (Sept. 2009), $69.95, by Matthew Clarke
- Study Highlights the Burden of Fees, Debt Collection on Criminal Defendants, by Derek Gilna
- Elaborate California Parole Violator Sting Nabs 150
- Colorado Officials Lead Efforts to Modernize Afghan Prisons, by Derek Gilna
- Sweeping Settlement Covers Medical and Mental Health Care at Wisconsin Women’s Prison
- $75,000 Settlement in Pennsylvania Jail Beating
- Connecticut Sues Prison Builders for $18 Million, by Gary Hunter
- Conviction Affirmed for Former Prisoner Who Posed as Lawyer
- State Auditor Finds Vermont Sex Offender Registry Unreliable, by Matthew Clarke
- Inefficiencies in Prison Pharmacy Operations Cost California Taxpayers at Least $13 Million Annually, by Michael Brodheim
- Fifth Circuit: Sex Offender Conditions May be Imposed for Prior Sex Offense, by Matthew Clarke
- South Carolina Appellate Court Holds Prisoners Entitled to Overtime
- $50,001 Verdict for Pennsylvania Prisoner in Failure to Protect Suit
- Eighth Circuit Reverses Transport Rape Summary Judgment
- Pennsylvania Jail Pays $3 Million to Settle Class-Action Strip Search Suit
- Sixth Circuit Rules on Whether Prisoner Must Name Defendants in Grievance
- News In Brief:
More from Brandon Sample:
- Q&A: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel: Which Errors Are Worth Pursuing?, April 12, 2019
- Guilty Plea Does Not Foreclose Challenge To Constitutionality Of Conviction, U.S. Supreme Court Decides, April 19, 2018
- U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Habeas Relief Citing AEDPA Deference, Dec. 19, 2017
- Maryland Ban on Prisoner's Book Rescinded, Aug. 23, 2016
- Former BOP Guard Convicted In Murder-For-Hire Scheme, Aug. 22, 2016
- Second BOP Guard Convicted In Assault-For-Hire, Aug. 22, 2016
- BOP Dentist Gets Slap On The Wrist for Sex Abuse, Aug. 22, 2016
- Cook County Jail Agrees to Improvements, April 15, 2013
- No More Than 20 Percent Can Be Deducted To Pay Filing Fees, April 15, 2013
- Heck Does Not Apply to Released Prisoner Seeking Damages for Sentence Miscalculation, April 15, 2013
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- Former Prisoner Informant Appointed Deputy Director of BOP, July 15, 2025. Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Informants, War on Drugs, Pardons/Clemency, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Trading Guns for Drugs.
- Trump Pardons Virginia Sheriff Convicted of a Bribes-for-Badges Scheme, July 15, 2025. Misconduct/Corruption, Pardons/Clemency, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Tennessee Board of Parole Spanked for Failing to Make Recommendation to Governor on Prisoner’s Clemency Application, July 15, 2025. Parole Board Misconduct, Pardons/Clemency, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, Release Decisions.
- Georgia Moves to Shield Intellectually Disabled Prisoners from Execution, June 1, 2025. Sentencing, Death Penalty.
- Fourth Circuit: District Court Failed to Provide Sufficient Explanation for Sentence Imposed and Did Not Address Defendant’s Arguments for Downward Variant Sentence, May 15, 2025. Sentencing, Drug Laws/Offenses.
- Fourth Circuit: Procedurally Unreasonable Sentence Where District Court Failed to Address Defendant’s Non-Frivolous Downward Variance Argument Based on Sentencing Disparity Due to Which State’s Statute Prior Conviction Based Upon, May 15, 2025. Sentencing, Failure To Consider Disparity, Federal-State Differences/Disparity/Conflicts, Disparity in Charging/Sentencing Practices.
- SCOTUS Announces Only ‘False’ Statements Made to FDIC Are Criminalized Under 18 U.S.C. § 1014, Not Statements That Are ‘Misleading’ but True, May 15, 2025. Sentencing, False Statements/Perjury.
- Former Prisoner Appointed President’s Pardon “Czar”, May 1, 2025. Pardons/Clemency, Appointments Clause.
- Biden Clemency Recipients Included Virginians Sentenced for “Acquitted Conduct”, April 1, 2025. Wrongful Conviction, Pardons/Clemency, False Confessions, Drug Laws/Offenses.