You asked whether there are constitutional or practical problems if the legislature requires the Board of Pardons to give written reasons for denying requests for pardons.

There do not appear to be any constitutional problems with this proposal but it may raise practical difficulties.

The General Assembly has the legal authority to require the board of pardons to state its reasons in writing for not granting a pardon. In Connecticut, the legislature has the authority to grant pardons. It created the Board of Pardons in 1883 and delegated its power to grant pardons to the board. The statutes establish the board's powers and duties (CGS § 18-24 et seq.).

No federal or state constitutional provision prevents the General Assembly from imposing this additional requirement. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Connecticut Board of Pardons did not violate a prisoner's due process rights when it failed to give him reasons for not commuting his sentence (Connecticut Board of Pardons v. Dumschat, 452 U.S. § 455 (1981)). That case deals with the constitutional right of a prisoner to compel our board to give written reasons. It does not limit the legislature's authority to impose a statutory duty to provide written reasons.

Burton Yaffie, the board's secretary, expressed strong opposition to this requirement. Yaffie believes it would take a lot more time and require hiring full time staff. He also noted that members might have different reasons for not wanting to grant a pardon to a specific applicant. He also cautioned against requiring the board, in essence, to give an applicant a blue print for demanding a pardon next time. Yaffie believes that it might be difficult to get people to sit on the board if they had to give reasons, because it would be much more time consuming and often would be very difficult. He also noted that under current law, the board has complete discretion in making its decisions. Requiring the board to give reasons or its decisions, according to Yaffie, may be incompatible with this unlimited discretion.

We have enclosed a recent OLR memo that describes the board's powers and duties, as well as a historical perspective of this power in Connecticut (98-R-0255).

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