SHIELDS v. SNEED

SHIELDS v. SNEED
1926 OK 336
245 P. 647
114 Okla. 214
Case Number: 17107
Decided: 04/06/1926
Supreme Court of Oklahoma

SHIELDS
v.
SNEED, Secretary of State.

Syllabus

¶0 1. Pardon--Requisites for Validity. A pardon is a mere matter of grace, and until this act of clemency is fully performed, neither benefit nor rights can be claimed under it. Simple intention on the part of the chief executive to bestow a pardon confers no right, and is nugatory until the intention may be said to be fully completed. This intention may be said to be fully completed when the pardon is signed by the executive, properly attested, authenticated by, the seal of the state, and delivered, either to the person who is the subject of the favor, or to some one acting for him, or on his behalf.
2. Mandamus--Writ Not Allowed to Compel Secretary of State to Attest Pardon and Attach Seal of State. Where the Governor signs a pardon, and his name is not attested by the Secretary of State, nor the seal of the state attached thereto, the person whose name is mentioned in said pardon is not possessed of such right or beneficial interest in the pardon as will enable him to maintain an action of mandamus in his own name to compel the Secretary of State to attest said pardon and attach the seal of the state thereto.
3. Same--Incomplete Pardon Signed by Former Governor. The act of the Governor in granting a pardon is an official act, which is incomplete until duly authenticated with the seal of the state, and such act to become effective must be duly authenticated while the individual who signs such pardon as Governor still occupies that position. Mandamus will not lie to compel the Secretary of State to authenticate an act of a former Governor.

A. S. Wells, for plaintiff in error.
George F. Short, Atty. Gen., and Fred Hansen, Asst. Atty. Gen., for defendant in error.

NICHOLSON, C. J.

¶1 On the 26th day of June, 1923, John W. Shields was tried in the district court of Oklahoma county and convicted of the crime of larceny of an automobile, and pursuant to said conviction was duly sentenced to serve a term of five years in the state penitentiary. From this judgment, Shields appealed to the Criminal Court of Appeals, where said judgment of conviction was affirmed on September 14, 1925. On December 28, 1925, Shields presented to R. A. Sneed, Secretary of State, and requested him to authenticate an instrument purporting to be a pardon, bearing date October 16, 1923, and purporting to have been signed by J. C. Walton, Governor. Upon the refusal of the defendant in error to authenticate said instrument, this action was brought, seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the defendant in error to duly authenticate such purported pardon by placing the great seal of the state thereupon. From a judgment denying the writ, Shields has appealed.

¶2 The situation here presented is substantially the same as that considered by this court in Jones v. Sneed, Secretary of State, 101 Okla. 295, 225 P. 700, wherein it was held that:

"A pardon or commutation is a mere matter of grace, and until this act of clemency is fully performed, neither benefit nor rights can be claimed under it. Simple intention on the part of the executive to bestow a pardon confers no right, and is perfectly nugatory until the intention may be said to be fully completed. This intention may be said to be fully completed when the pardon is signed by the executive, properly attested, authenticated by the seal of the state, and delivered, either to the person who is the subject of the favor, or to some one acting for him, or on his behalf. Whenever these things are done, the grantee or donee of the favor becomes entitled as a matter of right to all the benefits and immunities it confers, and of which he cannot be deprived by revocation or recall.

"Where the governor signs a pardon, and his name is not attested by the Secretary of State, nor the seal of the state attached thereto, the person whose name is mentioned in said pardon is not possessed of such right or beneficial interest in the pardon as will enable him to maintain an action of mandamus in his own name to compel the Secretary of State to attest said pardon and attach the seal of the state thereto."