Ten chapters examine postconviction relief in U.S. Federal and State courts and in England; they discuss the six principal Federal postconviction remedies for Federal convicts, and Federal habeas corpus remedy for State convicts, and the present availability of postconviction relief in the State courts.
The review of the history of postconviction relief in England notes that prior to 1907, two postconviction remedies existed; the writ of habeas corpus could be used to obtain relief for persons imprisoned pursuant to a common law court conviction or a summary conviction, and the writ of error coram nobis could be used by persons convicted in the Court of King's Bench, regardless of whether they were imprisoned. Habeas corpus remains the only available postconviction remedy in England. The history of postconviction relief in the United States considers the Federal habeas corpus remedy for persons convicted in a Federal court or a State court, as well as the Federal coram nobis remedy, the Rule 35 remedies, and State postconviction remedies. A chapter is devoted to each of the principal Federal postconviction remedies for Federal convicts. These are Section 2255, Section 2241, Section 1651, and Rule 35. Section 2241, a Federal habeas corpus remedy extended to persons convicted in a State court, is also addressed in a separate chapter. Another chapter summarizes the present availability of postconviction relief in the State courts, while the final chapter contains various helpful forms for use in postconviction litigation. Appendix A is a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction survey of the current availability of postconviction relief in each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia. Appendix B consists of selected materials relating to Federal postconviction relief. Appendix C contains selected materials relating to State postconviction relief: the 1980 version of the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act and the 1978 version of the ABA Standards Relating to Postconviction Remedies. A subject index and about 120 bibliographic entries are included.