[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 153 (Tuesday, August 8, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48379-48381]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-19973]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of the Pardon Attorney

28 CFR Part 1

[AG ORDER No. 2317-2000]


Rules Governing Petitions for Executive Clemency: Capital Cases

AGENCY: Department of Justice.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule supplements the existing regulations on executive 
clemency to provide specific procedures to be used in seeking clemency 
by persons sentenced to death by a United States District Court for an 
offense against the United States. This rule sets forth a deadline for 
filing a clemency request in a capital case and the general procedures 
the Department will follow in processing the request. These procedures 
also provide an opportunity

[[Page 48380]]

for defendants' counsel and victims' families each to make an oral 
presentation to the Pardon Attorney, if they wish to do so.

DATES: This rule is effective August 2, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan M. Kuzma, Deputy Pardon 
Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530, telephone 
(202) 616-6070.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The current clemency regulations, set forth in 28 CFR 1.1 to 1.10, 
do not prescribe procedures uniquely applicable to capital cases. In 
order to provide clear notice to capital defendants, their attorneys, 
and the public of the procedures by which requests for reprieve or 
commutation of a death sentence imposed by a United States District 
Court will be handled, the Department of Justice, with the President's 
approval, now promulgates specific procedures to be followed in capital 
cases. These procedures are intended to supplement the already existing 
clemency procedures for non-capital cases. As is true of the existing 
clemency regulations, the procedures for capital cases are advisory 
only, do not bind the President, and confer no rights on petitioners 
for clemency or any other person.

Section-by-Section Discussion

Section 1.10  Procedures Applicable to Prisoners Under a Sentence of 
Death Imposed by a United States District Court

    Paragraph (a) of the new regulation provides that clemency in the 
form of reprieve or commutation of a death sentence imposed by a United 
States District Court shall be requested by the person under the 
sentence of death or by the person's attorney acting with the person's 
written and signed authorization.
    Paragraph (b) addresses issues related to the timing of a clemency 
petition. The rule provides for a petitioner to exhaust the direct 
appeal and first petition under 28 U.S.C. 2255 before seeking executive 
clemency, and to file a petition for commutation of sentence no later 
than 30 days after receiving notice from the Bureau of Prisons of the 
scheduled date of execution. It further provides that any papers in 
support of the clemency petition should be filed no later than 15 days 
after the petition is filed, and may be excluded from consideration if 
not filed within that time.
    Because clemency is a remedy of last resort, a capital defendant 
should file his clemency petition only after the predictably available 
judicial proceedings concerning the case (the appeal of the conviction 
and sentence and the first petition under 28 U.S.C. 2255) are 
terminated. At the same time, because of the possible difficulty and 
complexity of determining whether further judicial avenues of relief 
(such as a successive petition under 28 U.S.C. 2255) are legally 
possible, the setting of an execution date should proceed once the 
generally available remedies have been pursued. Accordingly, once an 
execution date has been set (which, in the case of an execution date 
set by the Bureau of Prisons, will normally occur no later than 60 days 
after the termination of proceedings on the defendant's first section 
2255 petition, and which will normally provide at least 120 days' 
notice of the date of execution), the defendant may file a request for 
reprieve or commutation of sentence and has up to 30 days to request 
commutation of sentence. The deadlines for filing the commutation 
petition and supplemental papers are intended to preserve an 
appropriate amount of time to process and consider a clemency request.
    Paragraph (c) formalizes in capital cases a practice of allowing an 
oral presentation of reasonable duration to be made to the Office of 
the Pardon Attorney by both the petitioner's counsel and the family of 
any victim of a petitioner's capital offense.
    Paragraph (d) provides that clemency proceedings may be suspended 
if a court orders a stay of execution for any reason other than to 
allow completion of the clemency proceeding. In order to facilitate a 
prompt and final resolution of whether a defendant's death sentence 
will be carried out, this rule allows a defendant, after the first 
petition under section 2255 is terminated, to pursue clemency while 
litigation is pending, but provides for the suspension of the clemency 
proceedings when a court-ordered stay of execution is entered for a 
reason other than to permit the clemency proceedings to be completed. 
The option of suspending the clemency proceedings is consistent with 
the view of clemency as a remedy of last resort and helps to ensure 
that in making a decision about clemency, the President acts only upon 
a current and complete legal and factual record.
    Paragraph (e) provides that only one request for commutation of a 
death sentence will be processed to completion, absent a clear showing 
of exceptional circumstances. The limitation is designed to encourage 
the petitioner to raise all claims in a single request and to 
contribute to a swifter resolution of the case. However, if changed 
circumstances make it impossible to have raised all claims previously, 
additional petitions should be permitted.

Section 1.11  Advisory Nature of Regulations

    This section is the current section 1.10, renumbered as 1.11, which 
expressly acknowledges the advisory nature of the clemency regulations 
in part 1, and provides that the clemency regulations do not limit the 
President's exercise of his constitutional authority. Renumbering makes 
clear that this provision applies to the new capital clemency 
procedures set forth in the newly enacted section applicable in capital 
cases, as well as to the existing clemency provisions.

Administrative Procedure Act

    This rule relates to matters of agency management or personnel, and 
is therefore exempt from the usual requirements of prior notice and 
comment and a 30-day delay in effective date. See 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2). 
Moreover, to the extent that rulemaking procedures would otherwise be 
applicable, the Department finds that this rule would be exempted from 
the requirements of prior notice and comment as a rule of agency 
organization, procedure, or practice. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A). 
Similarly, the effective date of this rule need not be delayed for 30 
days after publication because the rule is not a ``substantive rule.'' 
See 5 U.S.C. 553(d).

Executive Order 12866

    This rule has been drafted and reviewed in accordance with 
Executive Order 12866, section 1(b), Principles of Regulation. The 
Department of Justice has determined that this rule is not a 
``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order 12866, section 
3(f), Regulatory Planning and Review, and accordingly it has not been 
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.

Executive Order 13132

    This rule will not have substantial direct effects on the States, 
on the relationship between the national government and the States, or 
on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various 
levels of government. Therefore, in accordance with Executive Order 
13132, it is determined that this rule does not have sufficient 
federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a Federalism 
Assessment.

[[Page 48381]]

Executive Order 12988

    This regulation meets the applicable standards set forth in 
sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 
Reform.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    This rule will not result in the expenditure by State, local, and 
tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 
million or more in any one year, and it will not significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, no actions were deemed 
necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 
1995.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996

    This rule is not a major rule as defined by section 251 of the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 5 U.S.C. 
804. This rule will not result in an annual effect on the economy of 
$100 million or more; a major increase in costs or prices; or 
significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, 
productivity, innovation, or the ability of United States-based 
companies to compete with foreign-based companies in domestic and 
export markets.
    As a rule relating to agency management or personnel, this rule is 
also therefore excluded from the scope of a covered ``rule'' for the 
purposes of Chapter 8 of Title 5, United States Code. See 5 U.S.C. 
804(3)(B). Moreover, to the extent that this rule would be considered 
to be a rule of agency organization, procedure, or practice, it is 
excluded from the scope of a covered ``rule'' pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
804(3)(C).
    Accordingly, because this action is not a covered ``rule,'' it is 
exempt from the requirement for the Department to submit a report to 
each House of Congress and the Comptroller General before this rule can 
take effect as provided in 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1).

List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 1

    Clemency, Pardon.

    With the approval of the President, acting in conformity with his 
authority as Chief Executive and with Article II, Section 2 of the 
United States Constitution, and by virtue of the authority vested in me 
by 28 U.S.C. 509, 510, and 5 U.S.C. 301, part 1 of chapter I of title 
28 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended to read as follows:

PART 1--EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY

    1. The authority citation for part 1 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: U.S. Const., Art. II, sec. 2; authority of the 
President as Chief Executive; and 28 U.S.C. 509, 510.


Sec. 1.10  [Redesignated as Sec. 1.11]

    2. Part 1 is amended by redesignating Sec. 1.10 as Sec. 1.11.

    3. Part 1 is further amended by adding a new Sec. 1.10 to read as 
follows:


Sec. 1.10  Procedures applicable to prisoners under a sentence of death 
imposed by a United States District Court.

    The following procedures shall apply with respect to any request 
for clemency by a person under a sentence of death imposed by a United 
States District Court for an offense against the United States. Other 
provisions set forth in this part shall also apply to the extent they 
are not inconsistent with this section.
    (a) Clemency in the form of reprieve or commutation of a death 
sentence imposed by a United States District Court shall be requested 
by the person under the sentence of death or by the person's attorney 
acting with the person's written and signed authorization.
    (b) No petition for reprieve or commutation of a death sentence 
should be filed before proceedings on the petitioner's direct appeal of 
the judgment of conviction and first petition under 28 U.S.C. 2255 have 
terminated. A petition for commutation of sentence should be filed no 
later than 30 days after the petitioner has received notification from 
the Bureau of Prisons of the scheduled date of execution. All papers in 
support of a petition for commutation of sentence should be filed no 
later than 15 days after the filing of the petition itself. Papers 
filed by the petitioner more than 15 days after the commutation 
petition has been filed may be excluded from consideration.
    (c) The petitioner's clemency counsel may request to make an oral 
presentation of reasonable duration to the Office of the Pardon 
Attorney in support of the clemency petition. The presentation should 
be requested at the time the clemency petition is filed. The family or 
families of any victim of an offense for which the petitioner was 
sentenced to death may, with the assistance of the prosecuting office, 
request to make an oral presentation of reasonable duration to the 
Office of the Pardon Attorney.
    (d) Clemency proceedings may be suspended if a court orders a stay 
of execution for any reason other than to allow completion of the 
clemency proceeding.
    (e) Only one request for commutation of a death sentence will be 
processed to completion, absent a clear showing of exceptional 
circumstances.
    (f) The provisions of this Sec. 1.10 apply to any person under a 
sentence of death imposed by a United States District Court for whom an 
execution date is set on or after August 1, 2000.

    Dated: August 1, 2000.
Janet Reno,
Attorney General.

    Approved: August 2, 2000.
William J. Clinton,
President.
[FR Doc. 00-19973 Filed 8-7-00; 8:45 am]
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