Mark Osler

Sunday Reflection: The Heartbroken On Friday, I was riding home from work along Minnehaha Creek and realized I was just five blocks from Annunciation Catholic Church where c...

oslersrazor.blogspot.com/2025/08/sund...

Fresh (and short) scholarship to download for free!

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Mark Osler: 2 big AI time bombs loom on horizon AI will transform much of our society and economy. More money is being spent to build AI chip factories than on construction related to all other American manufacturing combined.

wacotrib.com/opinion/colu...

It Happened to Me: Goldy Gopher Came to My Gay Wedding - Racket Goldy’s in-your-face affection knows no labels or limits, though his fee and time constraints are nonnegotiable.

Here it is: My daughter's full published account of how Goldy Gopher ended up at her wedding.

racketmn.com/goldy-gopher...

Local Event: White Collar Speaker: Prof. Mark Osler, Univ. of St. Thomas Law School Check out the latest community post from one of your neighbors. (The views expressed in this post are the author’s own.)

patch.com/new-york/new...

It about narcotics sentencing. And, kind of, The Band.

read.dukeupress.edu/fsr/article/...

Minnesotans! Come hear @rachelbarkow.bsky.social talk about her new book on April 29.

The Open Mind | Clemency for America | Season 2025 Legal scholar Mark Osler discusses the justice solution of clemency.

www.pbs.org/video/clemen...

A letter from Jimmy Carter It followed from a direct — and unanticipated — challenge he gave me regarding impact and effective change.

www.startribune.com/a-letter-fro...

Biden pardoned son while leaving hundreds seeking clemency in limbo President Biden’s historic one-day clemency act included commutations that sparked outrage, in part because the White House skipped normal vetting procedures.

Accurately quoted, and this is a great news piece:
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

That's a weird take. If you listen to the actual interview, I defend Biden's grant to CARES Act people after they quoted Amy Klobuchar's criticism of what Biden did. Here is the segment:

www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

What Biden's historic commutations mean President Biden announced he's commuting the prison sentences of some 1,500 people and issuing pardons to 39 others convicted of nonviolent crimes. That marks the largest number of commutations by a ...

Tonight on PBS's NewsHour, I got to talk about the clemency grants today:
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

YouTube video by The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law President Biden’s Pardon Legacy and the Future of the Federal Clemency Power

This was a great discussion of clemency (though I got a little rant-y at the end).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN2p...

I'll be on PBS NewsHour tonight talkin' clemency.

Which is pretty much what I love talking about.

YouTube video by University of St. Thomas | Minnesota Clemency in 2022: The Power of the Pardon

Here is a video of Sarah speaking at UST on a panel with Cynthia Roseberry of the ACLU and Paul Larkin of the Heritage Foundation. Her talk begins at 2:20: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2GU...

She's one of 18,000 people waiting for a presidential pardon. She knows an answer may take years. "Everywhere I go there will be background checks and I don't want that to be a hindrance for my future," one woman says.

Here is a 2021 story about Sarah Carlson, our client who got a pardon:
www.cbsnews.com/news/pardon-...

I am happy about Biden's pardons and commutations today. There must be more,. BUT... the CARES group is good, and one of the groups that @rachelbarkow.bsky.social and I described in our NYT op-ed. Also, one of my UST clinic clients received a pardon based on the great work of student Jessica Ally.

To my new connections- I have been blogging daily since 2006, about everything and nothing. I skipped right over Ted talks, podcasts, Tik Tok, etc. and just kept it old school. On Fridays I welcome everyone to offer a haiku. You can find it here:

oslersrazor.blogspot.com/2024/12/haik...

So glad to see it-- and I hope people in the WH do, too.

Hunter Biden and the Future of Clemency Biden knows there is a better way to use it—other people’s children also deserve mercy.

Just out from @rachelbarkow.bsky.social and I:
www.thenation.com/article/poli...

As Joe Biden pardons his son, politicized justice is a rising concern A blanket pardon for the president’s son, Hunter Biden, comes amid wider signs that federal justice isn’t immune from the political divisiveness that has gripped America’s public square.

Accurately quoted, and this is a good piece:
www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/...

I submitted a public comment to them this cycle telling them exactly what they should do! You can read it here: www.ussc.gov/sites/defaul...

Opinion | Biden Needs to Work on His Clemency Legacy It is more important than ever in an era of grossly excessive punishments and mass incarceration.

If you want to learn about the Biden clemency record so far (aside from the pardon of Hunter) and what he should be doing in the time remaining, please read this piece Mark Osler and I wrote in September begging him to use this power in the time he has left. www.nytimes.com/2024/09/18/o...

Behind the president's pardon power The absolute power of the presidential pardon has once again proven to be at odds with a system of government that depends on checks and balances. What's the history of the pardon? We hear from Mark O...

Current thoughts...
www.tpr.org/podcast/the-...

Coming up Tuesday of next week, and so well timed!

moritzlaw.osu.edu/president-bi...

As I see more and more outraged takes on the Hunter pardon, just want to re-up this.

Basically, I think @rachelbarkow.bsky.social and @markosler.bsky.social should have sole possession of the floor.

We should all be more outraged by the pardons we DON'T see than the ones we do.

Left X months ago, but miss the format. I've already noticed how many posts there are here about books-- a good sign!