A lot has been written lately about Presidential pardon power. While many of us know its origins, we don’t know or at least give much thought to its implications.

Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution establishes the President’s authority to grant clemency, including pardons of individuals as well as several other forms of relief from criminal punishment. The power, which has historical roots in early English law, has been recognized by the Supreme Court as quite broad. In 1886, in Ex parte Garland, the court referred to the president’s authority to pardon as unlimited except in cases of impeachment, extending to every offence known to the law and able to be exercised either before legal proceedings are taken, during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment.