Habeas Corpus Blog

Habeas Corpus - Around the U.S.

Finally got a chance to look around the internets to see what's been happening in habeasland.  A lot of habeas cases in the news this past week.  Summer is typically a busy season for habeas.

Courtesy of Fourth Circuit Habeas,a federal judge in Norfolk, Virginia, has granted habeas relief in a death penalty case based on a bunch of Brady violations.  Here's what the judge said:

Jackson found that [prosecutors] supported the use of false testimony from the admitted shooter to link [petitioner] to the slaying; failed to disclose evidence that others in the drug ring might have wanted to kill Petrole; and orchestrated testimony of key witnesses, among other irregularities.

In a strongly worded 57-page opinion released Tuesday, Jackson called the government’s case against Wolfe “tenuous” and accused prosecutors of having “stifled a vigorous truth-seeking process in this criminal case.”

A few months ago I briefly mentioned the habeas grant in the Norfolk Four case.  Recently, the charges were dropped against the successful habeas petitioner.  As the state court judge in that case has now stated, "It is over."  More coverage here.

Here's an article in an Alabama newspaper about the upcoming Supreme Court case in Maples.  The petitioner in Maples was convicted of the death penalty in Alabama.

A habeas petition has been filed in federal court on behalf of Kip Kinkel seeking to challenge his murder convictions for an infamous 1999 school shooting spree in Portland, Oregon.  More coverage here.

A post over at Volokh Conspiracy covers a recent habeas grant from the Sixth Circuit in a case called Stumpf v. Houk.  The Sixth Circuit had previously granted habeas to Stumpf, but the Supreme Court reversed back in 2005.  And, speaking of habeas delay, the oral argument before the Sixth Circuit in the more recent habeas grant happened back in July 2007 -- over four years ago.  I have never seen such a huge gap between oral argument and decision.  The writer at Volokh speculates that the Supreme Court could step in again, considering that the Court often slaps down the Sixth Circuit.

Habeas Corpus - A Call for Changes to the Federal Post-Conviction System

There has been even more good stuff from The National Law Journal lately.  In an article entitled, "Federal habeas corpus & actual innocence," Philip G. Cormier, Andrew Good, Barry C. Scheck and Harvey A. Silverglate discuss the many post-conviction roadblocks that has faced federal criminal defendant Jeffrey MacDonald, who has been pursuing an actual innocence claim based on DNA evidence.

It's a really interesting article and gives a lot of background about the MacDonald case, which I mentioned around here recently due to a Fourth Circuit decision in his favor. 

Of course, I prefer the article's subtitle's reference to all of this as part of the "federal post-conviction system" (which is the proper way to describe 2255 motions) as opposed to the main title's "federal habeas corpus" (which is not an accurate description of a 2255 motion), but that's not really that important overall.  The article is definitely worth a read.

And speaking of 2255 motions, I have written in the past about a 2255 motion filed in SDNY in the DiPietro case up in Westchester.  A local paper in Westchester named Westchester Rising had a series of articles documenting the paper's belief that DiPietro is innocent.  Now, the paper reports that a Hollywood producer is interested in potentially making a film about the case.  As the paper says at the end of the article, "Stay tuned." 

Habeas Corpus - In the News

In a post last week about habeas cases from around the country, I mentioned the case of Case v. Hatch, in which a DJ in New Mexico granted a second habeas petition, concluding that petitioner had shown by clear and convincing evidence that no reasonable factfinder would have found him guilty.

Here's an article in the Albuquerque Journal about the case.  It says that the prosecutor intends to retry petitioner even though the New Mexico Attorney General's office intends to appeal the decision.  That's because the DJ in the case denied the AG's request for a stay of the order, so the prosecutor had to act on the court's order.  AG's office could still ask for a stay from the 10th Circuit. 

Habeas Corpus - Various Items

A few habeas-related things I have seen lately:

Further defense of habeas in response to King and Hoffman at a Ohio-focused blog called Gamso - For the Defense.  It's long but good.  And I joked about this before, but now The End of Habeas is a movie, or at least a youtube video.

An en-banc Ninth Circuit reaffirmed a prior grant of habeas relief to a "teen mass murderer" in Doody v. Ryan.  The court had previously granted habeas relief on the grounds that the petitioner had not been properly advised of his Miranda rights.  The Supreme Court GVR'd the case in light of Florida v. Powell.  However, on remand, the Ninth Circuit held that Powell did not change its conclusion that habeas should be granted.

At the other end, the Fourth Circuit reversed a grant of habeas in Jackson v. Kelly.  The district court had held an evidentiary hearing and then granted habeas relief based on IAC during the penalty phase of petitioner's case.  In the new extraordinarily restrictive post-Richter and post-Pinholster habeas landscape, the Fourth Circuit held that, based on the evidence that was before the state court, its decision was not unreasonable.

Freakonomics reports that a recent study to be published shows that initial sentences handed down to minority defendants convicted of killing white victims were as much as 9 percent more likely to involve errors that had to be reversed than were those in cases involving a minority defendant killing a minority victim.  According to the summary of the study, "This result holds strong both for the cases that reach the final stage of revisions and appeal, the Habeas Corpus stage in Federal Courts, and for the full sample of cases in the first appeal stage, called Direct Appeal."

An interview with Laura Moye of Amnesty International about the Troy Davis case.

The Atlantic has a short post by Wendy Kaminer entitled, When Justice Becomes a Mere Technicality.  Using the Second Circuit case of Rosario v. Griffin as an example, the writer states that, under our current system, "as long as the state observes all procedural niceties (or technicalities), it is empowered to execute people* who, on second thought, seem innocent. The state is not required to entertain such inconvenient second thoughts."

*Kaminer acknowledges in her analysis that Rosario has actually been sentenced to 25 years to life, not the death penalty. Nevertheless, her logic stays the same -- the State won't reconsider the question of petitioner's innocence even though he faces a maximum term of life in prison.

 

Habeas Corpus - Habeas Cases From Around the Country

Saw some interesting habeas cases from other places over the past few weeks. . .

Last week, the Third Circuit re-affirmed its prior decision to grant habeas relief to Mumia Abu-Jamal on the grounds that the instructions in his capital sentencing phase were unconstitutional.  The court had originally granted habeas relief, but the Supreme Court vacated the decision in light of Smith v. Spisak.  On remand, the Third Circuit stuck to its prior conclusion, saying that it was not inconsistent with Spisak. 

Interesting habeas grant out of New Mexico a few weeks back in a case called Case v. Hatch, 2011 WL 1126335 (D.NM Mar. 28, 2011).  Petitioner was able to establish under 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(2)(B)(i) & (ii) that the facts underlying a Brady claim "if proven and viewed in light of the evidence as a whole, would be sufficient to establish by clear and convincing evidence that, but for constitutional error, no reasonable factfinder would have found the applicant guilty of the underlying offense."  After concluding that this gateway standard had been met, the court then granted habeas relief on the Brady claim.  This is a rare occurence.  The facts are also really interesting, as it appears that law student investigators were the ones who unearthed the Brady material.  You can download the decision here -- Download Case v. Hatch.

Briefly, here's an article about a habeas petition being filed in a high-profile murder case in Las Vegas from the '90's in which a grandmother was convicted of killing her husband.

It's a 2255 motion, but here's an article about a Fourth Circuit decision in the infamous Jeffrey MacDonald case, dramatized in the made for tv movie/Karl Malden vehicle "Fatal Vision." (of course, it was a book first, but I was a big fan of the movie, which also starred Eva Marie Saint and one of my all-time favorites, Gary Cole).  I mention it, not just because of its pop culture relevance (and the actual innocence issues hovering over the case), but because the decision concerns whether the lower court properly applied the standards for evaluating a second or successive 2255 motion, which appear to be the exact same as those for evaluating a second or successive 2254 petition under 2244(b)(2) (analyzed above in Case v. Hatch).  So, it does have relevance to 2254 cases.  The Fourth Circuit decision is here.

 

Habeas Corpus - This and That

I haven't done a bunch of links in a good long while.  Found myself in the mood over the weekend.  Here is a mish-mash of different habeas related stuff from all over the internets:

SCOTUSblog featured another habeas case as its petition of the day last Thursday.  The question in the case is when is direct review complete for the purposes of the statute of limitations in a situation where petitioner fails to seek discretionary review from the highest state court.  While there is a multi-layered split in the circuits on this issue, I hate to say it but the issue really isn't that compelling in my mind.  Maybe I am reading this wrong, but don't these petitioners also have an exhaustion problem as well?  So, even if they get through the statute of limitations hurdle, they are still going to face the daunting cause-prejudice/manifest injustice hurdle.  Of course, I would still like to see the statute read in the most liberal way that allows these petitioners to get their cases into federal court.  And some of those petitioners will then be able to overcome the next big hurdle.  But of the issues that could go before the Court, this one doesn't seem like the most compelling.

Many, many moons ago I blogged about a documentary that covered a horrifying tale of wrongful conviction in Mexico called "Presumed Guilty."  The movie showed a true breakdown in the Mexican court system. According to The Economist, it has now become the top-grossing documentary ever released in Mexico, even after a Mexican court banned it from being shown in theaters.  The point kind of proves itself here.

A couple of weeks ago, there was some media coverage of a "habeas petition" (actually, it's a 2255 motion - I got suckered after I already wrote this paragraph) filed by a member of the so-called Cuban Five.  According to one of the articles, petitioner and other members of the Cuban Five were spies for the Cuban government that sought to thwart efforts by Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro. This eventually led to the Cuban government shooting down a plane of exiles over the Florida straights. In the motion, petitioner claims that he received ineffective assistance of counsel.  There also seems to be an actual innocence aspect to the motion.

One sad note on that Cuban Five case is that, shortly after the 2255 motion was filed, the defense attorney working on the case, Leonard Weinglass, died.  I looked him up and learned that he "defend[ed] some of the most significant political cases of the century," including a member of the Chicago Seven, the defendant in the Pentagon papers case, and Mumia Abu-Jamal.  He also represented high profile defendants such as Jane Fonda and Amy Carter.  He continued to work up until the day he died at age 77.  Fascinating life.

Here is an article in the Green Bay Gazette about an infamous local murder case where several people were convicted of killing a co-worker.  One of the people convicted was later ordered released from prison by a federal judge after the judge granted habeas relief on the ground that there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction.  The Seventh Circuit affirmed the habeas grant.

There is an article up at SSRN with the intriguing title, "The Hidden Costs of Habeas Delay."  The abstract says that the article "analyzes newly compiled Administrative Office data on more than 200,000 habeas petitions and demonstrates empirically for the first time that there is a widespread and growing problem of delay in the resolution of habeas petitions in the federal courts."

And finally, "The End of Habeas" is now a book.  I'll just wait for the made-for-tru-tv movie.

Habeas Corpus - Around the U.S.

Hasn't been too many over the past 10 days, but I did find some:

Here's a criminal case out of Buffalo where a 70-year-old man was convicted of vehicular manslaughter.  The stay of execution of his sentence was recently lifted.  Now, his attorney "said he plans to file a habeas corpus action in U. S. District Court in Buffalo in an attempt to get his ailing client released from custody."

An Indiana case in which the defendant's death sentence for a rape and murder conviction was recently upheld in a state court proceeding.  Apparently, he has a few more options in state court, but, "[o]nce the post-conviction relief process is exhausted, Ward then could attempt to bring a federal habeas corpus petition in the federal courts."

Staying in Big Ten country, here's a story about a Minnesota case in which a defendant who had been convicted of child sexual abuse is about to be retried after a district court judge granted his habeas petition.  At its core is an interesting Crawford issue -- the defendant was convicted based on the videotaped statement of the young victim, but the victim did not testify in court.

The New England Innocence Project reports on a habeas grant in which the district court vacated an arson conviction that was based on suspicious expert testimony.  The court concluded that counsel was ineffective for failing to keep it out.

The False Rape Society (yes, that exists) discusses a habeas victory in the Sixth Circuit in a case where there was, as you would expect, an alleged false accusation of rape.

A blogger warns that a new advisory opinion concerning conflict of interest rules for the Georgia state public defender's office will result in more habeas petitions.  He states, "So, habeas counsel, get ready to start raising new IAC claims[!]"  [ed. note: I added the exclamation point; I just thought it seemed appropriate].

And finally, some complaints about the AEDPA.

Habeas Corpus - Around the U.S.

Some links from the past couple of days:

Here's a brief recap from the argument on Tuesday in Mumia Abu Jamal's habeas appeal before the Third Circuit.  Elsewhere (at this pro-Mumia site), I read that it appeared that at least two of three judges seemed to agree with his position.

I recently came across another blog that focuses, in part, on habeas corpus.  It's called Appeal and Habeas. While it focuses primarily on California cases and practice, it does have posts that would be meaningful to people outside of California (like this one).

Here's an article about a habeas case out of Virginia.  The petitioner was convicted of ordering the victim's murder; however, the triggerman has now come forward and said that petitioner had nothing to do with the crime.  After the district court had previously denied relief, the Fourth Circuit remanded the case and ordered the district court to hold an evidentiary hearing.  That hearing was held last week at which the triggerman gave the exonerating testimony.

If you have an hour, here's an interesting panel discussion about habeas corpus from the Chicago Humanities Festival.  Larry Yackle and Joseph Margulies were speakers.

Habeas Corpus - Saturday Morning Links

A federal judge in South Carolina granted a stay of execution to a South Carolina inmate named James Robertson "on grounds that Robertson has a right to file a petition of habeas corpus in the federal courts, after the S.C. Supreme Court last week set a date for Robertson to die."  More coverage here.

Not quite federal habeas related, but interesting nonetheless.  Jesse Misskelley (of West Memphis 3 fame) won an appeal before the Arkansas Supreme Court.  The court decided: "We agree with Misskelley that the wrong standard was used by the trial court, and we reverse and remand for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether a new trial is warranted."

This New York Times article by Linda Greenhouse notes that, last term, Justice Sotomayor voted in favor of the defendant in criminal cases (including habeas cases) more than any other judge on the Court, save Justice Stevens.

Here's an article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle about a symposium that was held at Brooklyn Law School entitled “Exonerating the Innocent: Pre-Trial Innocence Procedures.”  Part of the discussion focused on the actual innocence case of Fernando Bermudez.  The article notes, "Professors and students at Brooklyn Law School’s now-defunct Second Look Clinic filed the unsuccessful federal habeas corpus petition that nonetheless eventually led to Bermudez’ exoneration."

An opinion piece criticizing the Connecticut system of allowing prisoners to file an unlimited amount of state habeas petitions, but noting, "I am not suggesting Connecticut go the draconian route the federal system has gone, where innocent men are put to death because of procedural defaults."  Here's the writer's blog.

Habeas Corpus - Around the U.S.

Another big habeas grant out of Michigan that got a bunch of local media coverage (see here and here).  The case concerned a teacher who was convicted of killing her husband with a hatchet.  Habeas relief was granted on IAC grounds.

Respondent has asked the magistrate judge in Wisconsin to reconsider his prior grant of habeas in the drunk driving case (previously discussed here).

SCOTUSblog's petition of the day last Monday was a habeas case focusing on a Miranda issue.  Also a habeas case appears on the blog's petitions to watch for today's conference.  That post also discusses two of the relisted habeas cases.

Here's an editorial at a cite called "Op-Ed News" about the Skinner case in the Supreme Court.  It's a progressive website, so they are calling for the Court to allow the DNA testing.

An interesting post from Jonathan Turley about a corrupt police officer in Virginia.  He notes in the post that, based on the police misconduct, at least one petitioner was able to obtain habeas relief.

A fascinating post at TalkLeft about a case in Missouri where a state judge ruled that a defendant was innocent.  Habeas angle: the post notes that an earlier habeas petition had been granted, but later reversed (except, post does not indicate whether it was a state or federal petition).  More coverage of the case can be found here.

Quick post here about the 11th Circuit's denial of a request to file a second or successive petition in a capital case.

Some blog posts about a habeas denial by the Fifth Circuit in a capital case raising an Atkins claim (whether petitioner cannot be executed due to his mental retardation).

A rundown of some recent habeas denials in Northern California district courts.