Criminal cases are chock full of errors. Judges err, prosecutors err, and of course defense lawyers are far from perfect. But when it comes to federal habeas corpus, not all errors are worth raising. Perhaps the most challenging part of federal habeas corpus might be coming up with claims worthy of arguing for relief. In…
Just saw this posted today on the U.S. Courts website about changes being made to the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER). Here’s the entire text: AO Director Updates Congress on Progress in Case Management Technology Modernization In a letter to key members of Congress on Wednesday, the Director of the Administrative Office of…
Believe it or not, someone proving they`re “actually innocent” of their criminal offense is not enough to win federal habeas corpus relief. That`s because actual innocence, by itself, is not a constitutional violation to allow for federal habeas relief. Instead, it`s only the first step toward relief, and there must also be an underlying constitutional…
The slam dunk for federal habeas claims, if there exists such a thing, would be a claim that successfully challenges the evidence in a criminal case. By tossing the illegally-obtained evidence, not only would the conviction be overturned but the prosecution wouldn`t have a case for a new trial. The prisoner walks free. But reality…
It used to be that a state prisoner could use federal habeas corpus to raise any trial errors in the criminal case that violated the U.S. Constitution or federal law. The federal courts effectively became a venue to retry unfair state cases, the courts complained, and the Supreme Court mostly shut down this practice. Then…
When someone rejects my proposed theory on something, I tend to take it as if they`re rejecting me personally. While I know this isn`t the case (I hope), it has been a powerful lesson in how I judge people who have opinions that differ from mine. And I think it can be a powerful lesson…
