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>It's not questionable if you can pardon things that haven't been charged yet. You can. For a specific example, Jimmy Carter pardoned everyone who dodged the d
by vharuck 6y ago
>It's not questionable if you can pardon things that haven't been charged yet. You can.
For a specific example, Jimmy Carter pardoned everyone who dodged the draft for Vietnam[1]. This showed that pardons could both apply to actions which hadn't been charged and categories of people.
I think one of the only limits on the pardon power is that it can only apply to past behavior.
[1] https://www.justice.gov/pardon/vietnam-war-era-pardon-instructions https://www.justice.gov/pardon/vietnam-war-era-pardon-instru...
- ghaff 6y agoIf a president were to do something really nutty like "Everyone now has a clean slate with respect to federal crimes" I suspect the Supreme Court would find some way to invalidate it. Carter's pardon, while controversial, fell into the category of these weren't exactly serial killers and a lot of people in the country were ready to move on.
- dragonwriter 6y ago> This showed that pardons could both apply to actions which hadn't been charged and categories of people. It doesn't actually show that because the legal effect of thar pardon has never been challenged. If no one tries to charge someone subject to a pardon, or that pardon recipient never offers the pardon against the charges, nothing is resolved about the validity and effect of the pardon.