NCJ Number
129440
Journal
Rutgers Law Journal Volume: 13 Issue: 4 Dated: (Spring 1982) Pages: 675-772
Date Published
1982
Length
98 pages
Annotation
Information from all Federal habeas corpus petitions filed by State prisoners during a 2-year period in six Federal district courts formed the basis of an analysis of the operation of the procedures governing habeas review and of how well reform proposals will accommodate competing societal interests.
Abstract
The 1,899 cases studied included nearly 1 of every 8 State prisoner habeas petitions filed in Federal courts during fiscal years 1976 and 1977. The research focused on the procedures relating to the relitigation of issues, successive habeas petitions, the timing of petitions, appellate review of district court decisions, the extent of magistrate involvement, the effect of counsel, and issues cognizable in habeas. The results showed that many of the current efforts to rewrite the laws governing Federal habeas corpus are seriously misguided and that other areas exist in which reform could benefit all the interested parties and advance apparently conflicting interests simultaneously. Footnotes and tables