One of my clients was among the five that received a pardon. We will now be eligible to expunge that client's criminal record in Court. Congratulations to the other four that received clemency as well! To the rest that were denied or are still pending, good luck and keep hope alive because your time may still come!
In advance of the Memorial Day weekend, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner's Office announced today that he has released his 17th batch of executive clemency decisions. In this group, five petitions were granted and 197 were denied. The offenses that were pardoned include attempted burglary, theft, and drug cases.
One of my clients was among the five that received a pardon. We will now be eligible to expunge that client's criminal record in Court. Congratulations to the other four that received clemency as well! To the rest that were denied or are still pending, good luck and keep hope alive because your time may still come!
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In advance of the Easter weekend, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner decided on 144 executive clemency petitions, granting four and denying 140. This marks Rauner's 16th batch of decisions since taking office in January of 2015. The pardoned offenses include a felony theft, drug charges, and aggravated battery.
Congratulations to those few that have received their pardons! They are surely well-earned. For those that were denied or still pending, keep hope alive because your time may still come in the future. Just as the Governor has the power to grant executive clemency for individuals convicted at the state level, the President can offer clemency to those convicted at the federal level. Today, President Obama exercised that power by commuting the sentences of 46 federal prisoners. The individuals receiving the commutations were non-violent drug offenders sentenced under the old and absurdly harsh drug laws. According to video released by the President, nearly all of those receiving clemency would have completed their sentences already, had they been convicted under today's laws.
Last year, President Obama announced an initiative to offer clemency to the non-violent drug offenders convicted under the old laws. With today's batch, Obama has now commuted the sentences for 89 prisoners, the vast majority of whom applied under that initiative. Commutation of sentence is a form of executive clemency which reduces or terminates a sentence that an individual is currently serving. This differs from a pardon, which is granted after the sentence is completed and serves as forgiveness from the state or country. The Illinois legislature recently passed a bill that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis. If Governor Rauner signs the bill, the new law would make the possession of less than 15 grams of cannabis a civil violation, punishable by a fine no more than $125. Currently, possession of small amounts of cannabis is subject to arrest for criminal misdemeanor charges which can result in hundreds or thousands of dollars in fines and costs, and potentially even jail time.
This step toward decriminalization is not new in Illinois. Many local municipalities, including Chicago, already have directives in place for their police departments to issue tickets for small cannabis possession, rather than arresting the offender. However, those ordinance violations, despite intending to “decriminalize,” still do in fact create criminal records for the defendants. Not only are the ordinance violations visible to the public just like any other criminal charge, but a conviction for it can undermine a person’s eligibility to expunge another case, even if that other case would otherwise be eligible to expunge. Where this bill is truly different though is that it proposes to also change the Criminal Identification Act, which establishes the laws for expunging and sealing criminal records in Illinois. If it becomes law, the bill would make courts and police agencies expunge the tickets from their records automatically every six months. This is a major shift in treatment for these types of cases. No other adult records in Illinois (criminal cases or ordinance violations) automatically expunge. Even if you are arrested by mistake and released right away, you must still petition the court to expunge the case from the police records. By automatically expunging the records, the Illinois legislature is essentially saying that they are not concerned with repeated cannabis violators. In fact, the idea may be to account for them as a tax on cannabis use over its prohibition. Regardless, this bill would certainly lead to fewer criminal records for people doing something that is quickly trending toward acceptable in Illinois and the United States. Today, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn decided on 124 pardon petitions, granting 38 and denying 86. Some of the offenses that received the pardons included burglary, forgery, and various drug convictions. Since taking office, Quinn has granted 1,113 petitions for executive clemency and denied 1,934.
As always, a congratulations must go out to those that had their clemency petition granted! A lot of vetting is done to ensure that those who receive clemency have truly rehabilitated, so if you are lucky enough to receive it then it was well earned. This Labor Day weekend will mark the beginning of the next chapter in your life without a criminal record. Former U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. is hoping to receive a pardon from President Obama after the termination of Jackson’s sentence for misspending campaign money. This was recently stated in a letter composed by John Karoly, who is a fellow inmate, former attorney, and authorized by Jackson, Jr. to release his statement. According to the AP article, Karoly stated:
In the single stroke of a pen, the President, on behalf of the American people, can convert the intangible myth of America's forgiveness into what Jesse rightly insists is a matter of human entitlement. When you pay off your credit card debt in full, you no longer owe anything. The full utilization of the President's power to forgive, may be the greatest legacy any President can leave behind. It is an interesting time to beat the drum for Presidential clemency. Last month, news broke of President Obama’s plan for broad and systematic commutations given to those who are suffering from (now-repealed) draconian sentencing guidelines. While that particular plan would not apply to Jackson’s case, President Obama is making it clear that he is finally ready to start flexing his clemency muscle. He recently replaced U.S. Pardon Attorney Ronald Rogers with Deborah Leff. Rogers, a former military judge and drug crimes prosecutor, had a reputation for being unsympathetic for clemency petitioners. Leff represents a significant shift in the mentality for federal executive clemency. With her history of fighting for fair sentencing and helping the poor, Leff will almost assuredly send more petitions to Obama’s desk with a recommendation to grant clemency. This week, President Obama granted clemency to 21 individuals, including 8 commutations. It is good to see the President pick up the pace on clemency decisions, as he has been among the lowest in US history for clemency actions.
The commutations were for those sentenced under the harsh federal guidelines which, at that time, mandated a life sentence for selling crack cocaine. Among those was an Illinois man sentenced as a teenager almost 20 years ago, despite it being his first offense. Congratulations to those that received the clemency actions! And thank you to President Obama for making this a truly special holiday season for these individuals! This weekend, Governor Pat Quinn signed into law bills aimed at helping those with a criminal record to restart their lives. As previously discussed, one of these new laws will increase a tax incentive for employers to hire ex-offenders.
However, the biggest change in the law for record clearing purposes is a further expansion of felony convictions eligible for sealing. Previously, the only felony convictions eligible for sealing were Class 4 level drug possession or prostitution unless special authorization was granted by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. But under this new law, sealing eligibility will also include Class 3 and Class 4 level theft, retail theft, forgery, possession of burglary tools, and deceptive practices. When the bill was originally introduced, it also included Class 2 level felony cases burglary, delivery of a controlled substance, and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. But, these offenses were later deleted as the bill was amended. If you were convicted of any of these felonies, your option for clearing it from your criminal record is still executive clemency (Governor’s pardon). Last week’s Boston Globe featured a good op-ed by Leon Neyfakh about the philosophy behind presidential pardons and a history of their use. The article was prompted by the White House’s recent announcement that President Obama had issued pardons to 17 ex-offenders. This brings the total number of pardons Obama has granted to 39. Neyfakh, like many in academic and legal circles, feels this number is far too low. He says: “At a moment when the incarceration rate in the United States is near an all-time high, and the experience of living and working with a felony conviction is growing ever more difficult, it’s worth asking whether the president ought to see the pardon power not just as an option but as a duty.”
Some historical pardons Neyfakh points out are: · 1800: Thomas Jefferson pardoned individuals convicted under the Alien and Sedition Act, which he considered unconstitutional · 1919: Woodrow Wilson pardoned 500 people convicted under liquor laws, to signal his opposition to Prohibition · 1960s: John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson reduced the sentences of more than 200 drug offenders convicted under mandatory minimum sentences in the 1956 Narcotics and Control Act In each of these cases, the president used his pardon power to send a clear policy message that a law was unjust. Each of the laws above was later repealed. Neyfakh comments that in his second term “President Obama could use [pardons] in a similarly principled way, highlighting whole categories of individuals whose lives have been ruined by policies he sees as unjust or unduly harsh—injecting urgency into, say, the national debate over mass incarceration or the disproportionate impact of drug laws on minorities.” On the state level, we here in Illinois saw the pardon used in such a way not too long ago. In 2003, Governor George Ryan commuted the death sentences of everyone on or waiting to be sent to death row in Illinois. The blanket act affected 167 individuals, who were issued life sentences instead. Ryan saw it important to act to avoid any possibility for a mistaken execution. (13 wrongly convicted death row inmates had recently been exonerated.) Obama was an Illinois State Senator during this time and is no doubt familiar with these pardons. Only time will tell if Obama chooses to use his pardon power in a similar way before he leaves office. A new state law that goes into effect this month has expanded the eligibility for sealing criminal records. Under the new legislation, ex-offenders can now petition the Prisoner Review Board for eligibility to seal a Class 3 and 4 felony conviction from their criminal records, so long as the charge was not for violence, sex, or DUI. Previously, the only convictions that were eligible to be sealed were Class 4 drug crimes and prostitution. The change in the law means the potential for many new individuals to have their records sealed from the public, allowing them expanded opportunities to fully integrate back into society.
Bipartisan bills were introduced in the Illinois House and Senate in February of last year. A final bill passed both houses in May, and was signed into law by Governor Quinn in August. Getting such legislation enacted is no easy task. According the Illinois Press Association, similar bills have been proposed in the last five years, but have failed to make it out of committee. There is a waiting period and other stipulations under the new law, but contact us at the Bryant Chavez Law Office for a free consultation to determine your eligibility. |
We provide criminal defense legal services in Illinois, focusing on the expungement and sealing of criminal records.
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