Burdick v. United States
Encyclopedia
Burdick v. United States, 236 U.S. 79 (1915), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States
held that:
United States v. Wilson
established that it is possible to reject a (conditional) pardon, even for a capital sentence. Burdick affirmed that the same principle extends to unconditional pardons.
, took the fifth and refused to reveal the source
of his information. He was handed a pardon by president Woodrow Wilson
but he refused to accept it or testify. He was fined $500 and jailed until he complied.
The status of the Burdick decision is in question as a result of the decision of President Clinton to grant a full and unconditional pardon to Henry Ossian Flipper
. Flipper, the first African-American graduate of the United States Military Academy, did not accept the pardon, as he had been dead for over 50 years. In addition, the pardon was considered to be an act that cleared his good name. It did not constitute an admission of guilt. Flipper's clemency application also noted the Supreme Court made it clear, in 1974, that the "requirement of consent was a legal fiction
at best."
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
held that:
- A pardoned man must introduce the pardonPardonClemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
into court proceedings, otherwise the pardon must be disregarded by the court. - To do this, the pardoned man must accept the pardon. If a pardon is rejected, it cannot be forced upon its subject.
- A pardon carries an 'imputation of guilt', and accepting a pardon is 'an admission of guilt'.
- A pardon is an act of grace, proceeding from the power intrusted with the execution of the laws, which exempts the individual on whom it is bestowed from the punishment the law inflicts for a crime he has committed. It is the private though official act of the executive magistrate, delivered to the individual for whose benefit it is intended. A private deed, not communicated to him, whatever may be its character, whether a pardon or release, is totally unknown and cannot be acted on.
United States v. Wilson
United States v. Wilson
United States v. Wilson was a trial in the United States in which the defendant, George Wilson, was convicted of robbing the US Mail in Pennsylvania. Due to his friends' influence, Wilson was pardoned by Andrew Jackson. Wilson, however, refused the pardon. Due to the incredibility of events, the...
established that it is possible to reject a (conditional) pardon, even for a capital sentence. Burdick affirmed that the same principle extends to unconditional pardons.
Case history
A grand jury was investigating whether any Treasury Department employee was leaking information to the press. George Burdick, city editor of the New York TribuneNew York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
, took the fifth and refused to reveal the source
Protection of sources
The protection of sources, sometimes also referred to as the confidentiality of sources or in the U.S. as the reporter's privilege, is a right accorded to journalists under the laws of many countries, as well as under international law...
of his information. He was handed a pardon by president Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
but he refused to accept it or testify. He was fined $500 and jailed until he complied.
Current status
After Ford left the White House in 1977, intimates said that the former President privately justified his pardon of Nixon by carrying in his wallet a portion of the text of the Burdick decision that stated a pardon indicated a presumption of guilt, and that acceptance of a pardon was tantamount to a confession of that guilt. (See Presidency of Gerald Ford#Pardon of Nixon)The status of the Burdick decision is in question as a result of the decision of President Clinton to grant a full and unconditional pardon to Henry Ossian Flipper
Henry Ossian Flipper
Henry Ossian Flipper was an American soldier and though born into slavery in the American South, was the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1877 at the age of 21 and earn a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army.Following Flipper's...
. Flipper, the first African-American graduate of the United States Military Academy, did not accept the pardon, as he had been dead for over 50 years. In addition, the pardon was considered to be an act that cleared his good name. It did not constitute an admission of guilt. Flipper's clemency application also noted the Supreme Court made it clear, in 1974, that the "requirement of consent was a legal fiction
Legal fiction
A legal fiction is a fact assumed or created by courts which is then used in order to apply a legal rule which was not necessarily designed to be used in that way...
at best."