Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle tells more about the Supreme Court’s refusal to allow Governor Jerry Brown to pardon Borey Ai, the Cambodian refugee who murdered as a teenager and who now faces deportation. (Related: here and here.) (I’m quoted in the article.) The report includes the backstory of the pardon request.
The article correctly notes, “In contrast to their rulings in ordinary cases, the justices did not explain their reasoning — why a pardon would be an abuse of power — or give a breakdown of their votes.”