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. <\/p>\n
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<\/a> sets the basic conditions of earning a pardon, but the Board retains broad discretion in making its recommendations to the governor. <\/p>\n 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\u2019s record, rehabilitation for drug use or behaviour, the time since the last offense, and other steps taken to make one\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n Even with all of the effort involved, the chances for success remain modest. 548 pardon applications<\/a> were received by November of 2018, and only 244 public hearings were held by November 2018. Of those 244<\/a>, 201 pardons were recommended. The pardon process represents a lot of work for a less than 40 percent chance of success, however, the benefits of receiving a pardon make attempting to obtain a pardon worth it. It is a recognition by the state that you are rehabilitated and deserve to be looked at as more than just someone with a record. The pardon will relieve all legal disabilities the recipient faced as a result of their conviction. Most importantly, it makes the record eligible for expungement relief. Once the pardon recipient can expunge the record, the record will no longer appear on rap sheets, thereby opening up better housing and employment opportunities. Achieving a pardon is the pathway to moving on to a better life for the recipient’s family and the recipients themselves. For those not eligible for expungement nor record sealing relief in Pennsylvania, the pardon represents a valuable pathway for relief from the stigma of the past.<\/p>\n We are proud to have achieved this relief for our clients. The process is complex, and frustrating at times for applicants, so it is valuable to have an attorney represent you who understands the process and has found success for their clients. If you are someone who needs help finding post conviction relief in Pennsylvania, please contact our law firm and let us help you move forward to your best life.<\/p>\n You can call our helpful specialists at 877-573-7273<\/strong>, or take a free online eligibility test<\/a>. Do not wait to achieve the relief you need and deserve, act today for a better tomorrow. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Law Firm of Higbee & Associates achieved 16 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. Continue reading