Prof. Murray Participates in Panel with U.S. Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer about President Biden's Marijuana Pardons

Prof. JaneAnne Murray, Director of the Law School's Clemency Project, participated in a webinar with the U.S. Pardon Attorney, Liz Oyer, addressing the significance and potential impact of President Biden's recent blanket pardon of individuals convicted at the federal level of marijuana possession crimes.  The panel also focused on how the president’s pardon proclamation should be expanded to include other groups, such as immigrants with citizenship status issues and those with cannabis sales convictions.  In addition, Ms. Oyer spoke more broadly on her office’s clemency priorities.  She said that among the thousands of cases pending before her office, her top priorities "are the very many cases in which there is a clear indication that the sentence would be lower today as a result of the passage of the First Step Act,” a bipartisan sentencing reform law that was enacted under the Trump administration, "marijuana cases," "crack cocaine cases," and other drug cases.  [Murray's Clemency Project currently has 20 drug cases pending before the Office of the Pardon Attorney seeking a commutation from the President.]