Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday asked the Supreme Court to allow him to pardon Royal Ramey, who was convicted of second degree robbery and false imprisonment in 2008 and first degree robbery in 2010.
Under the state constitution, at least four Supreme Court justices must recommend clemency before the Governor can pardon, or commute the sentence of, someone who has been “twice convicted of a felony.”
The court has said it reviews requests for clemency recommendations under a deferential standard of review. And Governor Newsom has a nearly perfect record — other than one request that Newsom withdrew before a ruling, the court has signed off on 38 of 38 requests he has submitted. That’s better than former Governor Jerry Brown, who had the court without explanation block 10 intended clemency grants.
As is usual, other than relatively brief cover letters, 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.)
Including the Ramey request, there are five recommendation requests pending. The other four were among seven the Governor submitted in October.
