Hate-Crime Trials at Risk in Case With Trump Pardon Speculation

Prosecuting federal hate-crime charges after events such as mass shootings could get trickier if the U.S. Supreme Court rules for the defendant in a case getting more notice for its potential impact on President Donald Trump’s pardon power.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a U.S. assistant solicitor general referred to that possibility during oral arguments Dec. 6 in Gamble v. United States. The ruling may also affect whether white supremacist James Fields can be tried on federal charges after being convicted of murder in state court for his role in last year’s “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. ...