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The '''pardon power''' is a [[constitution]]al power assigned to the [[President]] which allows for the correction of political corruption of the criminal justice process, either by entirely repealing a conviction or mitigating the severity of the criminal punishment. "The President ... shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the [[United States]], except in Cases of Impeachment."  U.S. ''Constitution'', Article II, Section 2, Clause 1.  The United States [[Supreme Court]] has interpreted the "Pardon Power" to include the power to grant pardons, conditional pardons, commutations of sentence, conditional commutations of sentence, respites, remissions, and amnesties.<ref>P.S. Ruckman, Jr. 1997. “Executive Clemency in the United States: Origins, Development, and Analysis (1900-1993),”27 ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', 251-271</ref>  Pardons can be granted before anyone is charged with a crime, but cannot apply to new crimes that may be committed in the future.  The [[Department of Justice]] asserts that the president cannot pardon someone with respect to state (non-federal) crimes, but apparently the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] has never addressed this issue of pardoning state crimes and there are arguments on both sides of this issue.<ref></ref>For a broader pardon power: this has been the trend in court decisions, and the prospect of a county prosecutor convicting a current or past president without the pardon power covering this seems absurd.  Against a broader pardon power: viewing the states as separate sovereigns has a following on the Supreme Court.</ref>

The '''pardon power''' is a [[constitution]]al power assigned to the [[President]] which allows for the correction of political corruption of the criminal justice process, either by entirely repealing a conviction or mitigating the severity of the criminal punishment. "The President ... shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the [[United States]], except in Cases of Impeachment."  U.S. ''Constitution'', Article II, Section 2, Clause 1.  The United States [[Supreme Court]] has interpreted the "Pardon Power" to include the power to grant pardons, conditional pardons, commutations of sentence, conditional commutations of sentence, respites, remissions, and amnesties.<ref>P.S. Ruckman, Jr. 1997. “Executive Clemency in the United States: Origins, Development, and Analysis (1900-1993),”27 ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', 251-271</ref>  Pardons can be granted before anyone is charged with a crime, but cannot apply to new crimes that may be committed in the future.  The [[Department of Justice]] asserts that the president cannot pardon someone with respect to state (non-federal) crimes, but apparently the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] has never addressed this issue of pardoning state crimes and there are arguments on both sides of this issue.<ref>''For'' a broader pardon power: this has been the trend in court decisions, and the prospect of a county prosecutor convicting a current or past president without the pardon power covering this seems absurd.  ''Against'' a broader pardon power: viewing the states as separate sovereigns has a following on the Supreme Court.</ref>

The power comes from the royal [[English]] Prerogative of Kings, which predates the Norman invasion. [[British]] monarchs frequnelt sold pardons and conditional pardons were used to populate the colonies.<ref>Patrick R. Cowlishaw, "The Conditional Presidential Pardon." 28 ''Stanford Law Review'' 149-77</ref> Felons were also forgiven if they agreed to serve one year as a soldier.<ref>William F. Duker, "The Presidential Power to Pardon." 18 ''William and Mary Law Review'' 255-72</ref> Edward III granted pardons to celebrate his birthday and James II shared pardon sales with the two ladies "then most in favor."<ref>Kathleen Dean Moore, "Pardon for Good and Sufficient Reasons," University of 27 ''Richmond Law Review'' 281-8</ref> To curb abuses in which kings would grant pardons in exchange for money, Parliament tried unsuccessfully to limit this power.  However, in 1701 Parliament limited this power in the ''Act of Settlement''.

The power comes from the royal [[English]] Prerogative of Kings, which predates the Norman invasion. [[British]] monarchs frequnelt sold pardons and conditional pardons were used to populate the colonies.<ref>Patrick R. Cowlishaw, "The Conditional Presidential Pardon." 28 ''Stanford Law Review'' 149-77</ref> Felons were also forgiven if they agreed to serve one year as a soldier.<ref>William F. Duker, "The Presidential Power to Pardon." 18 ''William and Mary Law Review'' 255-72</ref> Edward III granted pardons to celebrate his birthday and James II shared pardon sales with the two ladies "then most in favor."<ref>Kathleen Dean Moore, "Pardon for Good and Sufficient Reasons," University of 27 ''Richmond Law Review'' 281-8</ref> To curb abuses in which kings would grant pardons in exchange for money, Parliament tried unsuccessfully to limit this power.  However, in 1701 Parliament limited this power in the ''Act of Settlement''.