Habeas Corpus - The End of Habeas, Ad Infinitum - Updated

First, it was a law review article.  Then it was a book.  Then, this weekend, it became an op-ed in the New York Times.*  And now it is a website.

*I am going to continue my previous stated policy of not linking to the Times due to their new digital subscription format.

I'll say this, these guys really know how to get their message out there.

I wish I had the time and the energy to give a more academic/formal opposition to the "Let's End Habeas Corpus"* argument.  I probably should since their position undermines the very existence of this blog.  Hopefully I can do that someday.  At least we have those professors at Cornell that made a go of it.  I guess I can link once again to My Very Bloggy Opposition from when the law review article came out.

*Yes, I know they are advocating a drastic reduction, as opposed to a complete end, to habeas.  But, in my mind, their suggestions would pretty much represent an end to habeas for non-capital state prisoners.

But I'll just add (or maybe repeat) this: the claim that habeas is somehow broken is really disingenuous. The only reason that habeas can be considered broken or ineffective is due to a concerted effort from the right, for many years, to break it and make it ineffective.  It now allows people to step in and say, "Hey look it's broken!"  I guess it's mission accomplished for the right.  It's similar to their strategy on the government: drain the goverment of money to make it ineffective and then say, "Hey look everybody government is ineffective."  Mixing malapropisms, I guess it's won't get fooled again all over again.

As a big fan of the availability of habeas corpus for state prisoners, I really hope that momentum doesn't build for ending habeas.  Habeas corpus review for state prisoners is an exceptional and admirable part of our criminal justice/federalism system.  It is completely consistent with our country's long-time commitment to liberty from unconstitutional restraint.  As I have stated before, rather than ending it, we should be making it stronger and more effective.    

I should work on a pithy catch-phrase for each time this comes up.  Something like the "Mend it, Don't End it" catch-phrase that was used for welfare reform.  But I'll try and think of something original, maybe like "Habeas is Great, Let's Make it Greaterer!"

Yep, definitely needs some work.  Of course, suggestions are welcome.

UPDATE: First, please look at some of the suggested catch-phrases in the comments.  They are fun. 

Second, I did notice this nice column defending habeas in the Wisconsin Law Journal.  Thought I'd share it.   

Comments

[Jonathan Edelstein]

Don't default on habeas?

Let's clearly establish habeas?

Don't retroactively enforce new habeas rules?

But yeah, this is one of the most disingenuous articles I've seen in a long time, and non-capital defendants need habeas a hell of a lot more than capital defendants do. Who are these professors anyway?

[Al O'Connor]

Habeas, like Festivus, for the rest of us.