Governor Gavin Newsom yesterday asked the Supreme Court to allow him to pardon Julie Ruehle, who Newsom says was convicted of possession of a controlled substance and taking a vehicle without consent in 1999. The state constitution requires a governor to get an affirmative court recommendation before granting clemency to anyone who has been “twice convicted of a felony.”
The court has said it reviews clemency recommendation requests under a deferential standard. (See here and here.) And Newsom has a nearly perfect record — he withdrew one request before a ruling, but the court has approved all 49 of his other requests. That’s better than former Governor Jerry Brown, who had the court without explanation block 10 intended clemency grants. The denial of a request implies that a clemency grant would be an abuse of power.
As is usual, other than a relatively brief cover letter, Newsom submitted the documents supporting his request under seal. It will likely take a motion before the court might make at least some of the documents open to public view. (See here and here.)
