Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Academic Blogs -> The Faculty Lounge

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Academic

: The Faculty Lounge

Eliminating federal habeas review of state cases

By Laura Appleman

ADVERTISEMENTS

A fascinating new paper by Nancy King and Joseph Hoffman has been recently been posted to SSRN. Entitled "Rethinking the Federal Role in State Criminal Justice," and forthcoming in NYU Law Review, the essay discusses the use of federal habeas review for state criminal cases, and concludes that it is a waste of time and resources:

This Essay argues that federal habeas review of state criminal cases squanders resources the federal government should be using to help states reform their systems of defense representation. A 2007 empirical study reveals that federal habeas review is inaccessible to most state prisoners convicted of non-capital crimes, and offers no realistic hope of relief for those who reach federal court. As a means of correcting or deterring constitutional error in non-capital cases, habeas is failing and cannot be fixed. Drawing upon these findings as well as the Supreme Court's most recent decision applying the Suspension Clause, the authors propose that Congress eliminate federal habeas review of state criminal judgments, except for cases including certain claims of actual innocence, retroactively applicable rules, or the sentence of death. The federal government should leave the review of all other state criminal judgments to the state courts and invest, instead, in a new federal initiative to encourage improved state defense services, an approach that can deter and correct constitutional error more effectively than any amount of habeas litigation ever could.

Those of you who follow sentencing and crim pro scholarship know that any new work by either King or Hoffman is well worth reading, so take some time out of exam-writing and grading and check it out!

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on April 21, 2009 (boomark / email).