Brandon Sample has co-written two books that people turn to when a federal conviction or a federal sentence is on the line. One is a guidebook to applying for a presidential pardon or a commutation. The other is a citebook for ineffective assistance of counsel claims in federal habeas corpus. Both are paperbacks. Neither is a substitute for legal advice about a particular case.
This page describes what each book covers, who wrote it, and where to find a copy. For help with a federal pardon or commutation petition of your own, request a consultation.
Pardons and Commutations of Sentences: The Complete Guidebook to Applying for Clemency
Paperback, 259 pages. Written by David L. Mathis and Brandon Sample, Esq. Prisology Press (2019). ISBN 978-1797428079.
The President of the United States may grant pardons and commutations for offenses against the United States (U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 1). A pardon can remove civil disabilities that follow a federal conviction, such as limits on voting, jury service, or certain licenses, without erasing the conviction itself. A commutation shortens a federal sentence that is still being served. In practice, people usually seek a pardon after they finish the sentence. People still in federal prison seek a commutation.
This guidebook walks through the federal application process: how a petition reaches the Office of the Pardon Attorney, what belongs in the petition, and how a pardon differs from a commutation. It is written for people who want to apply, whether or not they have a lawyer. It does not promise that the President will grant relief, and no book can.
Brandon Sample’s court admissions and practice limits are listed on his attorney page. He has also handled federal cases in courts across the country.
Buy Pardons and Commutations of Sentences on Amazon.
The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (2nd Edition)
Paperback, 275 pages. Written by Brandon Sample and Alissa Hull. Prison Legal News Publishing (2016). ISBN 978-0-9819385-4-7.
Ineffective assistance of counsel is one of the claims most often raised in federal post-conviction and habeas corpus proceedings. This citebook organizes federal case law on that claim. It cites decisions of the United States Courts of Appeals and the United States District Courts, published and unpublished, and groups them into about 40 subject categories. Those categories include failures to investigate a defense, conflicts of interest, and advice on appeal, among others.
Later chapters collect procedural resources for putting a federal habeas petition or other collateral attack together: rules and codes, sample briefs, and notes on procedure. The book is aimed at people examining prior counsel’s performance and at lawyers building a claim under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), and related federal authority. It is not a promise that a court will grant relief.
The second edition was published by Prison Legal News Publishing in 2016. The publisher’s store page and Amazon both list the same title, authors, page count, and ISBN.
Buy The Habeas Citebook on Amazon. Also available from Prison Legal News.
How these books relate to this site
Clemency.com is about federal clemency: presidential pardons and commutations. The guidebook above is the book we point people to when they want a written overview of that process. The citebook is about a different kind of federal relief—habeas corpus based on counsel’s performance—and is listed here because Brandon Sample co-wrote it. Reading either book does not create an attorney-client relationship with Criminal Center.
If you are deciding whether a federal pardon or commutation is worth pursuing in your case, request a consultation and tell us what happened. We’ll listen, tell you whether we can help, and explain what comes next.