Obtaining A Criminal Pardon

Part 1: Getting a Pardon in the United States 1 1 Federal Criminal Convictions 3 1. Regain Right to Bear Arms 5 2. Removal or Deportation 6 2.1 Nonresidents 6 3. Posthumous Pardons 6 4. Victims 7 5. Federal Misdemeanors 8 6. Application Process 8 2 Standards for Considering Pardon Petitions 13 1. Post-Conviction Conduct, Character, and Reputation 13 2. Seriousness and Relative Recentness of the Offense 14 3. Acceptance of Responsibility, Remorse, and Atonement 14 4. Need for Relief 15 iv Obtaining a Criminal Pardon 5. Official Recommendations and Reports 15 6. Effect of a Pardon 15 3 Clemency Initiative, Commutations, and Remissions 17 1. New Clemency Initiative 17 2. Commutations and Remissions 19 2.1 Disclosure 21 2.2 Noncitizens 21 2.3 Standards for considering commutations 22 4 Role of the US Attorney 35 5 Pardons for Vietnam War Draft Dodgers and Military Offenses 39 1. Pardons for Vietnam Veterans 39 2. Pardon for a Military Offense 40 6 Death Penalty Cases 43 7 History of Presidential Pardons 45 1. Clemency Statistics from the United States Department of Justice 47 8 State Pardons 59 1. California 60 2. New York 62 3. Massachusetts Pardon Petition for Mark Wahlberg 65 4. Pardon411.com 66 Part 2: Getting a Pardon in Canada 69 9 Record Suspensions 71 1. Applying for a Record Suspension 73 2. From Prisoner to Premier 74 3. Tough on Pardons 77 Contents v 10 Delays in the System 79 1. Private Agencies 81 11 Your Rights 89 1. Fraud Alert 92 12 Young Offenders 95 1. Extrajudicial Sanctions 95 2. Extrajudicial Measures 96 3. Disposition or Destruction of Records and Prohibition on Use and Disclosure 96 4. How to Apply 98 13 Entry Permits 101 1. Other Reasons for Inadmissibility to the USA 104 1.1 Health reasons 104 1.2 Security 104 1.3 Immigration violators and illegal entrants 105 1.4 Falsely claiming US citizenship 105 1.5 Military service 105 1.6 Miscellaneous grounds for inadmissibility 106 2. What a Lawyer Can Do for You 107 3. Getting into Canada 108 14 Royal Prerogative of Mercy 111 1. Types of Clemency 112 2. The Role of the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) 115 Download kit 117 Samples 1 Petition for Commutation of Sentence 24 2 Financial Statement of Debtor 30 3 New York Pardon Request - Background Information 64 4 Request to Purge Absolute and/or Conditional Discharge 75 vi Obtaining a Criminal Pardon 5 Record Suspension Application 82 6 Local Police Records Check 84 Table 1 Clemency Statistics from the United States Department of Justice 49