Habeas Corpus (Update 2)

• Author: Cliff Gardner
• Pages: 1254-1255

Page 1254

The latin phrase "habeas corpus," literally translated as "produce the body," refers to a procedure in which persons held in custody by either the federal or state government may challenge their incarceration and/or sentence as unlawful. The person raising the challenge asks (or "petitions") a court to examine whether the custody or sentence is lawful. The relief sought?whether it be outright release, a new trial, or a change in the sentence?is in the form of a court order (or "writ").

Although Article I, section 9 of the Constitution refers to "[t]he privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus," it nowhere defines this right nor explains what circumstances will justify a court in granting a writ. Thus, the power of a federal court to issue a habeas corpus writ has always been defined by statute.

The first habeas corpus statute, the JUDICIARY ACT OF 1789, permitted federal courts to issue writs only with respect to federal prisoners. In the HABEAS CORPUS ACT OF 1867, Congress first provided that federal courts could also issue writs with respect to state prisoners who were "restrained in violation of the constitution, or of any treaty or law of the United States.?" In 1966, Congress enacted a habeas corpus statute using language virtually identical to that used in the 1867 act.

During the 1960s, the liberal WARREN COURT issued a series of rulings that greatly expanded the constitutional rights of criminal defendants. In a parallel development, the court also expanded the power of the federal courts to remedy unconstitutional state court convictions by granting habeas corpus relief. The combination of developments had an immediate practical consequence; state prisoners increasingly began to seek relief in federal court for violations of their constitutional rights.

This trend was perhaps most evident in CAPITAL PUNISHMENT cases. In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment was constitutional. In the decades since this ruling, habeas corpus became an extremely effective tool used by defense lawyers to prevent their clients from being executed.

With the expansion of rights in the 1960s, and with the increasing number of capital cases in the background, there was a reaction against the increasing use of habeas corpus to upset state court convictions. Many conservative jurists and scholars argued that grants of habeas relief imposed significant burdens on the CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM and caused tensions...