Federal pardons in the United States

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/federal-pardons-in-the-united-states

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scope limitation?Excludes offenses subject to impeachment
2. What is the judicial precedent?Pardon power is 'plenary' (Ex parte Garland, 1867)
3. What is a federal pardon?A federal pardon is a special gift from the President that can forgive a person for a federal crime. It can erase the punishment and let the person move on. It is a powerful tool for mercy.
4. How can someone ask for a federal pardon?People write a request to the Department of Justice’s Pardon Attorney. The office checks the case and tells the President what to do. The President then decides whether to grant the pardon.

Reprieve: A temporary postponement of the execution of a sentence.
Amnesty: A pardon extended to a group of individuals, often for political offenses.
Dicta: Statements in a judicial opinion that are not essential to the decision and therefore not binding precedent.