{"id":134659,"date":"2017-09-11T23:11:02","date_gmt":"2017-09-12T05:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=134659"},"modified":"2017-09-11T23:18:57","modified_gmt":"2017-09-12T05:18:57","slug":"not-enough-pardon-arpaio-trump-wants-conviction-scrubbed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/09\/11\/not-enough-pardon-arpaio-trump-wants-conviction-scrubbed.html","title":{"rendered":"It’s not enough to pardon Arpaio; Trump wants the conviction scrubbed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pardon cases don’t generally change the legal record, they just override it. There’s always that asterisk — found guilty, but pardoned. The end effect is the same: an executive pardon removes all penalties from a conviction. But the record …<\/p>\n

The problem is, Trump jumped the gun. In his eagerness to pardon Arpaio from a contempt of court conviction for willfully defying a federal court order to stop racial profiling by his deputies, Trump pardoned him before any sentence was pronounced (let alone served) and appeal process completed. That’s very rare for presidential pardons (not that Trump usually lets precedent guide his actions), but now Arapaio and his lawyer are upset that he can’t appeal the judgment, as planned, because it’s now moot — you can’t appeal if a pardon has removed any consequences.<\/p>\n

Because of that, Arpaio has asked the court to get rid of the conviction because, well, it makes no difference, right?<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the President issued a pardon before sentencing and judgment \u2014 and clearly, before the conclusion of any appeals \u2014 the Court is obligated to vacate its verdict and all other orders in this matter, and to dismiss the case with prejudice,\u201d Arpaio\u2019s attorneys wrote in a filing. \u201cBecause Defendant will never have the benefit or opportunity to seek a reversal of the court\u2019s verdict through appeal (and a retrial by jury), it is only fair that the Court vacate its verdict and all other rulings in the case.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Except, clearly, it does<\/i> make a difference to Arpaio, and it should make a difference to the law. Because the conviction is on the legal record, even if the consequences have been voided. And just because Trump offered (and Arpaio accepted)<\/i> an early pardon before the appeals process could settle whether the conviction would stand doesn’t mean the process should be short-circuited. “Only fair” is both highly subjective and not a legal principle. Claiming that means that the conviction should be disappeared makes little sense; that was the last judicial action prior to the pardon, so it’s the next-to-last line line on the legal record.<\/p>\n

In other words, if Arpaio was so sure his appeals would be successful, he should have stuck with the process. Too eagerly grabbing at a “Get Out of Jail Free” card should have consequences.<\/p>\n

Arpaio should take his pardon and be grateful. Trump having the Justice Department jump on the retroactive exoneration wagon is not only unseemly (not that Trump’s ever caviled at that) but a bizarre twist on the judicial system that’s only necessary because of the President’s actions. Let Trump (and Arpaio) learn the lesson of being too eager to get your buddies off the hook.<\/p>\n


\n
\n<\/a>
\nJustice Dept. supports Arpaio\u2019s post-pardon bid to have guilty finding thrown out<\/a><\/span>
\nThe move would largely have a symbolic effect.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

View on Google+<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pardon cases don’t generally change the legal record, they just override it. There’s always that asterisk — found guilty, but pardoned. The end effect is the same: an executive pardon removes all penalties from a conviction. But the record … The problem is, Trump jumped the gun. In his eagerness to pardon Arpaio from a … Continue reading “It’s not enough to pardon Arpaio; Trump wants the conviction scrubbed”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,715,1071],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-plusposts","category-crime-punishment","category-trump"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/joe-arpaio-donald-trump-01-ap-jc-170801_4x3_9925B15D.jpgimgmax=660.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":135107,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/10\/20\/joe-arpaio-pardoned-conviction-wont-erased.html","url_meta":{"origin":134659,"position":0},"title":"Joe Arpaio is pardoned, but his conviction won’t be erased","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 20-Oct-17 9:30am","format":false,"excerpt":"Good. The pardon issued by Trump to his long-time supporter may eliminate any penalties associated with his contempt of court, but it shouldn't edit history to pretend that the conviction or the evidence that led to it never actually happened. Judge denies Joe Arpaio's motion to erase contempt conviction A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/arpaio.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":134451,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/08\/26\/pardons-commutations-oh-yeah-first-arguments.html","url_meta":{"origin":134659,"position":1},"title":"On Pardons and Commutations and “Oh Yeah, He Did It First!” arguments","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 26-Aug-17 2:31pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Despite slipstreaming the Joe Arpaio pardon into a Friday night news dump that includes a major natural disaster, it's still engendered a fair amount of comment. I wanted to pull over into one of my own posts a couple of lengthy comments I wrote elsewhere, because otherwise I will never\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/joe-arpaio-donald-trump-01-ap-jc-170801_4x3_9925B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/joe-arpaio-donald-trump-01-ap-jc-170801_4x3_9925B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/joe-arpaio-donald-trump-01-ap-jc-170801_4x3_9925B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":134446,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/08\/25\/trump-devalues-presidency-arpaio-pardon.html","url_meta":{"origin":134659,"position":2},"title":"Trump further devalues his Presidency with Arpaio pardon","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 25-Aug-17 9:29pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Doing so by taking care of a staunch supporter, and fiercely anti-Latino and anti-immigrant law enforcement activist, and throwing raw meat to his supporters, and instead poking his thumb into the judicial system's eye and that of the Latino community. Oh, and he gives a great signal to other law\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/unnamed-8-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":134484,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/08\/28\/tweetizen-trump-2017-08-28-others-said.html","url_meta":{"origin":134659,"position":3},"title":"Tweetizen Trump – 2017-08-28: “As Others Have Said”","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 28-Aug-17 9:15am","format":false,"excerpt":"Things continue to look bad along the Gulf, Donald -- and, to be fair, you continue tweeting about it. Let's hope that an analysis of all the actions the federal government has taken and will take around this disaster show as much robust activity as your tweeting has. In the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/trump%2Bmeme%2Bmother%2Bteresa.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/trump%2Bmeme%2Bmother%2Bteresa.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/trump%2Bmeme%2Bmother%2Bteresa.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10761,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/07\/02\/the_law_order_party.html","url_meta":{"origin":134659,"position":4},"title":"The Law & Order Party","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 2-Jul-07 6:43pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Bush commutes Scooter Libby's sentence.\u00a0 President Bush commuted Monday the prison term of former White House aide I. Lewis \"Scooter\" Libby, facing 30 months in prison after a federal court...","rel":"","context":"In "Politics & Law"","block_context":{"text":"Politics & Law","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":136654,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/05\/31\/and-you-get-a-pardon-and-you-get-a-pardon.html","url_meta":{"origin":134659,"position":5},"title":"“And YOU get a pardon, and YOU get a pardon…”","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 31-May-18 10:39am","format":false,"excerpt":"Trump loves pardoning. He loves it so much, he skips all that annoying \"process\" stuff, and just does it directly. He especially likes pardoning folks prosecuted by the previous Administration, because he can. And because of the message it sends to his own people under indictment or investigation, and to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/dinesh-dsouza.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134659"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134660,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134659\/revisions\/134660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}