In Ohio Adult Parole Auth. v. Woodard (1998) 523 U.S. 272, a death row inmate claimed he had a due process right to have counsel attend and participate in a statutorily-mandated clemency hearing conducted by the parole board. (Id. at pp. 276-277.) The prisoner also claimed that a statutory option for him to participate in an interview violated his privilege against self-incrimination. (Ibid.) The United States Supreme Court disagreed with both arguments. The prisoner's interest in commutation "'"is indistinguishable from the initial resistance to being confined,"' and that interest has already been extinguished by the conviction and sentence. ." (Id. at p. 280.) The due process the inmate sought "would be inconsistent with the heart of executive clemency, which is to grant clemency as a matter of grace, thus allowing the executive to consider a wide range of factors not comprehended by earlier judicial proceedings and sentencing determinations." (Id. at pp. 280-281.) The inmate in the Ohio case argued clemency is an integral part of Ohio's system of adjudicating the guilt or innocence of the defendant and an integral part of the judicial system because it has historically been available as a significant remedy, its availability impacts earlier stages of the criminal justice system, and it enhances the reliability of convictions and sentences. (Ohio Adult Parole Authority, supra, 523 U.S. at p. 283.) The inmate cited an opinion finding a constitutional right to assistance of counsel on a first appeal as of right. (Ibid.) Ohio Adult Parole Authority held clemency is "far different" from a first appeal. "Clemency proceedings are not part of the trial -- or even of the adjudicatory process. They do not determine the guilt or innocence of the defendant, and are not intended primarily to enhance the reliability of the trial process. They are conducted by the Executive Branch, independent of direct appeal and collateral relief proceedings. And they are usually discretionary, unlike the more structured and limited scope of judicial proceedings" and "executive clemency exists to provide relief from harshness or mistake in the judicial system, and is therefore vested in an authority other than the courts." (Id. at pp. 284-285.) "Thus, clemency proceedings are not 'an integral part of the . . . system for finally adjudicating the guilt or innocence of a defendant.'" (Id. at p. 285.)