The Fourteenth Amendment Does Not Create A Protected Interest In Receiving A Pardon
BOWENS v. QUINN (April 2, 2009)
The Illinois Constitution allows the governor of the state to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons "on such terms as he thinks proper." An Illinois statute provides the procedural framework for the exercise of the governor's power. Twelve people who had filed petitions for clemency brought an action against the governor, alleging a violation of their due process rights under the 14th Amendment because of the governor's failure to act on their petitions within a reasonable time. While a motion to dismiss was pending, the governor acted on the petitions of nine of the plaintiffs, granting one and denying eight. The lower court denied the governor's motion to dismiss. The governor brought this interlocutory appeal.
In their opinion, Judges Posner, Kanne and Wood reversed. The Court first addressed the issue of mootness with regard to the plaintiffs whose petitions had been processed. With respect to those plaintiffs whose petitions were denied, the Court determined that the claims were not moot on the grounds that they met the "capable of repetition, yet evading review" standard of Roe v. Wade. The claim of the plaintiff whose application was granted was, on the other hand, moot. On the merits, the Court concluded that there was no ground for the denial of due process claim. The 14th Amendment does not create a property or liberty interest in obtaining a pardon. The fact that the plaintiffs are not claiming an entitlement to a pardon, but merely an entitlement to a reasonably prompt decision, does not change the result.
