13-a-7 Can You Petition for Someone Else in Governmental Custody?

• Library: A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (2020 Edition)

13-A-7. Can You Petition for Someone Else in Governmental Custody?

Filing a habeas petition for someone else is often allowed. The petitioner (the person who files the habeas petition) is called a "next friend" and may be a relative, friend, or lawyer. To be allowed to file a petition as a "next friend" in court, you must establish that (1) the prisoner cannot bring the petition himself and (2) you are truly dedicated to the best interests of the prisoner. Sometimes the courts may require that you have some significant relationship with the prisoner.¹⁵ In addition, courts seek proof that the next friend is in a better position to file the petition than the prisoner.¹⁶ In general, filing a habeas petition for a competent adult prisoner is not allowed if it goes against his wishes.¹⁷ However, courts usually permit parents to petition on behalf of their underage children who are in governmental custody.¹⁸

15. See Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149, 163-64, 110 S. Ct. 1717, 1727, 109 L. Ed. 2d 135, 150 (1990) (noting that the two prerequisites for next friend standing are (1) providing an adequate explanation, such as mental incompetence or disability as to why the real party in interest cannot appear on his own behalf, and (2) showing that the "next friend" is truly dedicated to the best interests of the person on whose behalf he seeks to litigate and has some significant relationship with the real party in interest).

16. See Demosthenes v. Baal, 495 U.S. 731, 735, 110 S. Ct. 2223, 2225, 109 L. Ed. 2d 762, 766 (1990) (per curiam) (holding that though the prisoner's parents filed a petition for him, he was competent to represent his own interests and...