It`s no secret that nearly every request for post-conviction relief by a prisoner gets tossed out of court before it even begins. This is because of the procedural hurdles that lawmakers and judges have thrown in the way of relief, even for valid claims. Lots of organizations and groups have attempted to fix the problem,…
Experts agree it’s the fear of being caught that deters crime, and not the severity and length of the punishment. Yet, judges continue to defy logic by imposing sentences on the faulty premise that this is what works to deter crime. Take the case of United States v. Kimble, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 237529 (S.D….
When a prisoner files a habeas corpus petition in federal court, he must first determine the court where the petition must be filed and then who the “respondent” will be. Typically the federal district court nearest the prison is the proper venue, and the person having custody of the prisoner (usually the warden) is the…
Unsurprisingly, lawmakers in Alabama have decided to use money the federal government gave the state to recover from COVID-19 to build more prisons. That’s right: One of the states hit hardest by the pandemic is taking money intended for its struggling residents so it can lock up even more of them. This is the same…
State prisoners must “exhaust” all their post-conviction remedies in state court before bringing a claim in federal court on habeas corpus review. If they don’t follow the state’s procedural rules, they risk having their claim “procedurally-defaulted” (or procedurally-barred) in federal court and their habeas petition dismissed. The only way around this is to show “cause…
A sex offender is handed numerous “special conditions” as part of supervised release, in addition to the “standard” conditions that apply to every offense. This includes residency restrictions, mandatory sex offender counseling, and lots of other burdens that could land that person back in prison. For this reason, this case is an important one for…
The writ of coram nobis has been called an “ancient remedy” by some, and the courts have called it an “extraordinary remedy” that’s rarely used anymore. But this case proves that coram nobis can also be a battering ram to break down obstacles to habeas relief created by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently held that a Pennsylvania State prisoner was allowed to use a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) to reopen his old federal habeas corpus case based on new circuit case law, that would have been granted, had a new change in decisional law…
In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that the “in-custody” requirement of federal habeas corpus, which is a jurisdictional hurdle, depends on which “judgment” the petitioner is in custody for, not whether the challenged judgment had played a role in the current judgment. Let me explain what this means. Sean Wright moved from Alaska…
Third Circuit Holds Due Process Implicated When Pennsylvania Prison Rejected Mail Without Notice Thirty years ago, Steven Vogt was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole in a Pennsylvania prison. But in 2016, the state’s key witness against Vogt recanted his testimony in a letter to Vogt that he sent to the…
