The Law Firm of Higbee & Associates achieved 23 granted pardons for their clients in December 2018! Earning a pardon is considered earning an extraordinary relief, so it is no easy feat and requires patience, determination, and focus through a lengthy process to demonstrate deservingness of relief to the Board. Once earned, however, the pardon provides incredible relief to the recipient, making the process worth the effort when you have the right representation.
The Pennsylvania Pardon requires that the majority of the Board of Pardons recommend to the governor that a pardon be granted. The Board consists of the lieutenant governor, the attorney general and three members of the public appointed by the Governor with the consent of a state senate majority. The public members serve six year terms with one member needing to be a crime victim, one a corrections expert, and one a doctor. The Pennsylvania Constitution sets the basic conditions of earning a pardon, but the Board retains broad discretion in making its recommendations to the governor.
The process of seeking a pardon is an intense and complex process involving multiple steps, including investigating your background and speaking with your friends, before knowing if a hearing will be heard regarding your application. It is important to note that the Board does not weigh guilt or innocence, that is decided by the court, but instead the Board evaluates the merits of granting relief. Some of the factors the Board considers are: the number of offenses on the applicant’s record, rehabilitation for drug use or behaviour, the time since the last offense, and other steps taken to make one’s self into an upstanding member of the community and society. In making its assessment it also weights a report compiled by its investigative team and opinions submitted by the prosecutor and judge from the jurisdiction of your case. The hearing itself, if granted, is only 15 minutes.
Even with all of the effort involved, the chances for success remain modest. 548 pardon applications were received by November of 2018, and only 244 public hearings were held by November 2018. Of those free online eligibility test. Do not wait to achieve the relief you need and deserve, act today for a better tomorrow.
