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Schick v. Reed

Case Date: 10/23/1974
Docket No: none

Facts of the Case 

Schick, a master sergeant in the Army, was convicted of murder in a military court and sentenced to death in 1954. President Eisenhower intervened and commuted his sentence in 1960, reducing it to life imprisonment without parole.

Question 

Did Eisenhower exceed his powers to commute criminal sentences?

Argument Schick v. Reed - Oral ArgumentFull Transcript Text  Download MP3 Conclusion  Decision: 6 votes for Reed, 3 vote(s) against Legal provision: Article 2, Section 2, Paragraph 1: Presidential Pardoning Power

The Court dismissed Schick's claim that Eisenhower's action was invalid because it imposed a condition not authorized by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Tracing the development and Court's interpretation of the President's powers to commute sentences, Chief Justice Burger argued that since the pardoning power is an enumerated one, any limit on it must be found in the Constitution. Thus, its use does not depend on statutes such as those found in the military code.