Cheyney: Bush should have pardoned Scooter

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by PhiGam

I agree with Cheney, Libby was unethical but he's not a danger to society and shouldn't be behind bars. Unfortunately, Bush was so unpopular at the end of his term that he couldn't pardon Libby.

Please read the difference between a commutation and pardon again. Libby won't have to serve any time, but his record will show that he was found guilty of a federal crime.

There are thousands of jobs that cannot be held by anyone with a federal record, whether or not they served any time.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Please read the difference between a commutation and pardon again. Libby won't have to serve any time, but his record will show that he was found guilty of a federal crime.

There are thousands of jobs that cannot be held by anyone with a federal record, whether or not they served any time.

But, I believe he was disbarred, and now can't practice law.

I'm unsure of whether a pardon would allow him to re-apply for the bar...

[nate2512]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

But, I believe he was disbarred, and now can't practice law.

I'm unsure of whether a pardon would allow him to re-apply for the bar...

One would have to assume so. He goes to apply for the bar, they run a background check, he's clear. The same thing could have happened to someone unknown, and hardly anyone would know that difference, just because he's rather well known shouldn't make a difference.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by nate2512

One would have to assume so. He goes to apply for the bar, they run a background check, he's clear. The same thing could have happened to someone unknown, and hardly anyone would know that difference, just because he's rather well known shouldn't make a difference.

It could, and should, make a big difference. Not the fact that he's well known, but the fact that his conviction is well-known to the bar. Bar examiners don't just look at criminal convictions, they look at anything that would reflect on an applicants' professional ethics and fitness to practice law.

He'd be reapplying to the bar, so even if the examiners had been living under a rock, his application for readmission would indicate why he lost his license to beging with. I'm not saying that his application to be readmitted shouldn't even be considered had he been pardoned, just that a pardon wouldn't, and shouldn't, equal automatic readmission.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

It could, and should, make a big difference. Not the fact that he's well known, but the fact that his conviction is well-known to the bar. Bar examiners don't just look at criminal convictions, they look at anything that would reflect on an applicants' professional ethics and fitness to practice law.

He'd be reapplying to the bar, so even if the examiners had been living under a rock, his application for readmission would indicate why he lost his license to beging with. I'm not saying that his application to be readmitted shouldn't even be considered had he been pardoned, just that a pardon wouldn't, and shouldn't, equal automatic readmission.

Especially since the state bars ask you EVERYTHING under the sun, including the name of your second grade girlfriend, and how many times you got detention.