James Rolf Bjerkan v. United States

The Presidential Pardon received by Mr. Bjerkan does not remove all of the “collateral consequences” of his conviction. Therefore, I am unable to agree with the majority that this case is now moot. In Carlesi v. New York, 233 U.S. 51, 34 S.Ct. 576, 58 L.Ed. 843 (1914) the Court held that a state could take “into consideration a prior offense committed against the United States after pardon” as long as the state’s action did not constitute a punishment. Carlesi, supra, at 57, 34 S.Ct. 577. The assignment by the state of “second offender status” to the appellant did not impair the effect of his…