“Presidential Pardons” On Across America [Audio]

[/caption]President Barack Obama recently issued his second set of pardons since he took office in 2009. Eight people were on the latest list, bringing the count to 17, the number of people pardoned by Obama. According to published reports, there have been nearly 700 petitions for pardons and more than 4,000 petitions for commutations of sentences. Who gets pardoned? And why? And what are some of the most controversial pardons in history? Listen as we talk with Harold J. Krent, Dean & Professor of Chicago-Kent College of Law, IIT on Across America! Enjoy!

Harold Krent Presidential Pardons (partial)

Prof. Harold J. Krent is the author of “Presidential Powers.”

Dean Krent graduated from Princeton University and received his law degree from New York University School of Law, where he served as notes editor of the Law Review and garnered several awards for excellence in writing.

Dean Krent clerked for the Honorable William H. Timbers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then worked in the Department of Justice for the Appellate Staff of the Civil Division, writing briefs and arguing cases in various courts of appeals across the nation. He has been teaching full-time since 1987 and has focused his scholarship on legal aspects of individuals’ interaction with the government. His recent book, "Presidential Powers", is a comprehensive examination of the president's role as defined by the U.S. Constitution and judicial and historical precedents.

In addition, Dean Krent has served as a consultant to the Administrative Conference of the United States. He has also litigated numerous cases with students on behalf of indigent prisoners.

Dean Krent joined the Chicago-Kent faculty in 1994. He was appointed associate dean in 1997 and interim dean in 2002 before assuming the deanship on January 1, 2003.