Professor Joel Johnson Presents "The New Criminal Docket and the Clemency Court" -- Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting 2026

Professor Joel S. Johnson presented "The New Criminal Docket and the Clemency Court" at the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Annual Meeting 2026, Criminal Procedure Works-in-Progress Panel. The article explores trends on the Supreme Court's criminal docket over the past five terms.

The presentation took place in New Orleans on January 8.

Abstract of "The New Criminal Docket and the Clemency Court"

For decades, the Supreme Court treated its merits docket as a platform for deciding landmark decisions to manage and reform the criminal legal system through broad rules of constitutional law. Not anymore. The Court now picks cases with issues of limited significance and resolves them on narrow grounds, dispensing relief to small sets of beneficiaries without altering the machinery of the criminal legal system more broadly. The contemporary Court is functioning like a Clemency Court, with significant implications. When relief is dispensed as a matter of discretion only for a fortunate few, both the Court’s legitimacy and the rule of law suffer. Doctrine stagnates. And the vertical and horizontal separation of powers are realigned, leaving more power in the hands of local authorities and the other federal branches. In addition, the Court’s special solicitude for high-profile or powerful individuals results in neglect of issues that affect millions of ordinary people, with traditionally disadvantaged groups disproportionately bearing the cost.