[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 211 (Thursday, October 31, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66417-66419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-27597]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

[AAG/A Order No. 295-2002]


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

    Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 
552a), notice is given that the Department of Justice proposes to 
modify a system of records entitled ``Executive Clemency Case Files/
Executive Clemency Tracking System,'' JUSTICE/OPA-001. The purpose of 
publishing this notice is to document the functions of the Attorney 
General or his designee in receiving, investigating, and evaluating 
requests for executive clemency, preparing the necessary reports and 
recommendations from the Department of Justice to the President in 
clemency matters, serving as liaison with clemency applicants and the 
public on clemency matters, and advising the President on the 
historical exercise of the clemency power.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (11), the public is 
given a 30-day period in which to comment; and the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB), which has oversight responsibility under the Act, 
requires a 40-day period in which to conclude its review of the system. 
Therefore, please submit any comments by December 2, 2002. The public, 
OMB, and the Congress are invited to submit any comments to Mary E. 
Cahill, Management and Planning Staff, Justice Management Division, 
Department of Justice, Washington, DC, 20530 (Room 1400, National Place 
Building).
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), the Department has provided a 
report to OMB and the Congress.

    Dated: October 22, 2002.
Robert F. Diegelman,
Acting Assistant Attorney General for Administration.
JUSTICE/OPA-001

System Name:
    Executive Clemency Case Files/Executive Clemency Tracking System.

System Location:
    Office of the Pardon Attorney (OPA), U.S. Department of Justice, 
500 First Street, NW., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20530.

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
    Individuals who have applied for or been granted executive 
clemency.

Categories of Records in the System:
    Paper Files: The system contains the individual case files of 
persons who have applied for or been granted executive clemency, which 
may include the following: The clemency petition; character affidavits; 
investigatory material; court-related documents (e.g., presentence 
reports, judgments of conviction, and court opinions); official court-
martial documents (in military cases); prison progress reports and U.S. 
Parole Commission notices of action; media reports (e.g., newspaper and 
magazine articles); official and other correspondence (both generated 
and received, whether solicited or unsolicited); and inter-agency and 
intra-agency reports and recommendations and decisional documents 
relating to individual clemency matters.
    Computerized Records: The system also includes an automated 
database for tracking the handling of clemency cases from filing to 
final action. Information used to track such progress may include, but 
is not limited to, the petitioner's name, social security number, birth 
date, the date the petition was received, offense and sentencing 
information, the date of final action by the President, and other case-
related information. Clemency case file notes may also be summarized 
and stored in an automated format, and may include any relevant 
information that would assist OPA in formulating clemency 
recommendations to the President or otherwise performing its duties 
more efficiently.

Authority for Maintenance of the System:
    The system is established and maintained in order to carry out the 
duties assigned by the President, pursuant to the power granted him 
under United States Constitution, Article II, section 2, to the 
Department of Justice in Executive Order of the President 30-1, dated 
June 16, 1893; and Executive Order of the President No. 11878 
(published at 40 FR 42731), as delegated by the Attorney General to OPA 
in 28 CFR 0.35 and 0.36 (Attorney General Order No. 1012-83, published 
at 48 FR 22290), and as described in 28 CFR 1.1 through 1.11 (Attorney 
General Order No. 1798-93, published at 58 FR 53658; as amended at 65 
FR 48381 and 65 FR 58223).

Purpose(s) of the System:
    Executive clemency case files are maintained by the Attorney 
General or his designee to facilitate and document the functions of the 
Attorney General or his designee in receiving, investigating, and 
evaluating requests for executive clemency; preparing the necessary 
reports and recommendations from the Department of Justice to the 
President in clemency matters; serving as liaison with clemency 
applicants and the public on clemency matters; and advising the 
President on the historical exercise of the clemency power. In 
addition, OPA or the Attorney General may provide other Departmental 
components records and information from clemency case files to the 
extent it is necessary to perform their functional responsibilities. 
For example, following a Presidential decision to grant clemency (and 
occasionally when clemency is denied), the Department's Office of 
Public Affairs typically makes appropriate disclosures of information 
to the public, including the name of the person granted clemency, the 
date of the grant of clemency, the nature of the relief granted (e.g., 
commutation of sentence, remission of fine, reprieve, or pardon after 
completion of sentence), the date, sentence, and district of the 
conviction for which clemency was sought, the city and state of the 
applicant's current place of residence, and the names of his attorney 
and character affiants, if any. Automated tracking and retrieval 
systems enhance OPA's ability to maintain and use the information 
contained in clemency case files.

Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories 
of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses.
    Disclosure of records in the clemency file of an individual who has 
applied for or been granted clemency, and

[[Page 66418]]

information contained in such documents, may be made to the following 
parties when it has been determined by OPA that such a need exists:
    (a) The President, and members of his staff, in order to assist him 
in the exercise of his constitutional clemency power.
    (b) Current and former government employees, including law 
enforcement and judicial authorities, whose comments on a particular 
clemency matter are solicited by OPA in connection with its 
investigation and review of a case, in order to enable such persons to 
formulate a response to the request.
    (c) Contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, students, and 
others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative 
agreement, or other assignment for the Federal Government, when 
necessary to accomplish an agency function related to this system of 
records.
    (d) A private contractor or federal agency for the purpose of 
preparing bound and indexed volumes containing originals and/or 
photocopies of the official warrant of clemency granted each recipient 
of clemency as a public and official record of Presidential action.
    (e) An appropriate federal, state, local, foreign, or tribal law 
enforcement authority or other appropriate agency charged with the 
responsibility for investigating or prosecuting a violation or 
potential violation of law (whether civil, criminal, or regulatory in 
nature), in the event that a record in this system, either alone or in 
conjunction with other information, indicates a violation or potential 
violation of law.
    (f) A federal, state, local, or tribal agency, including 
prosecution, corrections, sentencing, or parole authorities, in order 
to assist it in the execution of appropriate actions necessary to 
implement a Presidential clemency decision or in the performance of its 
official duties.
    (g) A federal, state, local, or tribal agency or regulatory 
authority where OPA determines that the agency requires information 
relevant to a decision concerning the issuance, renewal, revocation, or 
suspension of a license, permit, grant, or other benefit, or other need 
for the information in the performance of its official duties.
    (h) A court, administrative, or regulatory body when the records, 
or information derived therefrom, are determined by OPA to be arguably 
relevant to the litigation or proceeding, and when one of the following 
is a party to or has an interest in the litigation or proceeding: (1) 
OPA; (2) any employee of OPA in his or her official capacity; (3) any 
employee of OPA in his or her individual capacity where the Department 
of Justice has agreed to represent the employee; or (4) the United 
States.
    (i) The news media and the public pursuant to 28 CFR 50.2 unless it 
is determined that release of the specific information in the context 
of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion of 
personal privacy.
    (j) A Member of Congress or staff acting upon the Member's behalf 
when the Member or staff requests the information on behalf of and at 
the request of the individual who is the subject of the record.
    (k) The National Archives and Records Administration and the 
General Services Administration in records management inspections 
conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    (l) A member of the public who has requested information concerning 
a specific, named person, provided that such a disclosure shall be 
limited to: whether a clemency application has been filed, and if so, 
the date on which it was filed, the type of clemency sought, the 
offense(s) for which clemency is sought, the date and court of 
conviction, the sentence imposed, the decision of the President to 
grant or deny clemency and the date of that decision, the 
administrative closure of a clemency request and the date of such 
closure.
    (m) Former employees of the Department for purposes of: Responding 
to an official inquiry by a federal, state, or local government entity 
or professional licensing authority, in accordance with applicable 
Department regulations; or facilitating communications with a former 
employee that may be necessary for personnel-related or other official 
purposes where the Department requires information and/or consultation 
assistance from the former employee regarding a matter within that 
person's former area of responsibility.

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage:
    Data is stored in electronic media via a client/server 
configuration. Computerized records are stored on hard disk, floppy 
diskettes, compact disks, magnetic tape, and/or on OPA's local area 
network. Paper records are stored in individual file folders and a 
secure file room or file cabinets with controlled access, and/or other 
appropriate GSA approved security containers.

Retrievability:
    Individual case files are retrieved primarily by the name of the 
person who applied for or was granted executive clemency. Case files 
also may be retrieved by a case file number assigned to each file. 
Information stored in the computerized case-tracking system is 
retrieved primarily by searching under the name of the person who 
applied for or was granted clemency, or on whose behalf clemency was 
sought. Information stored in the computerized case-tracking system may 
also be retrieved by the clemency case file number, or the applicant's 
Bureau of Prisons register number (if he was incarcerated at the time 
he applied for or was granted clemency).

Safeguards:
    Paper records are secured through the use of safes, locked file 
cabinets, and/or restricted access to the space in which they are 
located. Electronic records are safeguarded in accordance with DOJ 
rules and policies governing automated systems security and access, 
including the maintenance of technical equipment in restricted areas 
and the required use of individual passwords and user identification 
codes to access the system.

Retention and Disposal:
    Individual case files are stored in OPA's work area while the 
clemency request is pending, and generally for up to two years after 
the date of final decision. Closed case files are transferred to the 
Washington National Records Center in Suitland, Maryland one full year 
after the calendar year in which the case was closed. Except for copies 
of reports furnished to the President on particular clemency matters, 
clemency warrants and other documents reflecting the President's action 
in clemency cases, case files in any cases in which clemency is 
granted, case files in any other cases designated by the Pardon 
Attorney as having significant public interest, and notices issued by 
OPA to the Office of Public Affairs of the Department of Justice, case 
files at the Washington National Records Center are destroyed no sooner 
than 25 years after the case is closed, in accordance with Records 
Disposition Authority NC1-204-95-1, or successor Records Disposition 
Authority.

System Manager(s) and Addresses:
    Pardon Attorney, Office of the Pardon Attorney, U.S. Department of 
Justice,

[[Page 66419]]

500 First Street, NW., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20530.

Notification Procedure:
    Address inquiries to Office of the Pardon Attorney, U.S. Department 
of Justice, 500 First Street, NW., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20530.

Record Access Procedures:
    While the Attorney General has exempted executive clemency case 
files from the access provisions of the Privacy Act, requests for 
discretionary releases of records shall be made in writing to the 
system manager listed above with the envelope and letter clearly marked 
``Privacy Access Request.'' Include in the request the general subject 
matter of the document. Provide full name, current address, date and 
place of birth, signature (which must be either notarized or submitted 
under penalty of perjury) and a return address for transmitting the 
information.

Contesting Record Procedures:
    While the Attorney General has exempted executive clemency case 
files from the correction (contest and amendment) provisions of the 
Privacy Act, requests for the discretionary correction (contest and 
amendment) of records should be directed to the system manager listed 
above, stating clearly and concisely what information is being 
contested, the reasons for contesting it and the proposed amendment to 
the information sought.

Record Source Categories:
    Sources of information include: individual applicants for clemency, 
their representatives, and persons who write, confer with, or orally 
advise OPA concerning those applicants; investigatory reports of the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, 
the Internal Revenue Service, and the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service, and other appropriate government agencies; records of the 
Bureau of Prisons; reports of the Armed Forces; presentence reports 
provided by the Bureau of Prisons or the federal Probation Offices; 
reports of the U.S. Parole Commission; comments and recommendations 
from current and former federal and state officials; and employees of 
the Department of Justice and the White House.

Systems Exempted from Certain Provisions of the Act:
    The Attorney General has exempted this system from subsections 
(c)(3), (c)(4), (d)(1), (d)(2), (d)(3), (d)(4), and (e)(5) of the 
Privacy Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2). Rules have been 
promulgated in accordance with the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553 (b), 
(c), and (e) and have been published in the Federal Register.

[FR Doc. 02-27597 Filed 10-30-02; 8:45 am]
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