Habeas Corpus Blog

Habeas Corpus - Habeas Corpus "saved my life"

In my last post for 2010, I wanted to direct everyone's attention to an upcoming article in The Nation.  It's entitled, "The Gutted Writ: On Habeas Corpus".  The article talks about how habeas corpus rights for state prisoners have been receding over the years. 

The main storyline in the article concerns a state prisoner out of Louisiana, Wilbert Rideau, who obtained habeas relief twice when he was on death row.  He eventually had his conviction reduced from first-degree murder and has now been released.  The title of this post is a quote of his from the article.  The full quote is: "I'm only here today because of habeas corpus," he said in a recent interview. "It saved my life."

The other main thread in the article is a discussion of a recently published book about habeas corpus: Habeas Corpus: From England to Empire by Paul Halliday.  Okay, I'll admit, I have not read it yet.  But I will.  Let's make it a resolution for next year.*

*Wikipedia says that this type of promise counts as a new year's resolution, which includes a commitment to a project.  The project - read the book.

The Nation article is highly-recommended reading.  It will be a good way to usher in the new year in habeasland.

Habeas Corpus - DA Misconduct before the Supreme Court

I would be remiss if I didn't mention something about Connick v. Thompson, a case to be argued before the Supreme Court today. 

I didn't include it in the Pending Supreme Court Cases page because it is only tangentially related to criminal law and will have no effect on habeas cases.

Nonetheless, there are criminal law aspects to it, so I thought I would at least talk about it.

At its core, the case concerns a wrongful conviction from over 20 years.  The defendant filed a civil case against the DA's office, arguing that the office's failure to adequately train its prosecutors on their Brady violations entitled him to relief.  The question before the Supreme Court is whether a claim can be stated where there has only been on Brady violation as a result of the lack of training. 

It's definitely interesting, and it's criminal law-related, but it won't have a direct effect on the development of criminal law or habeas law.  I guess in a back door way it could.  If the Court says that this states a claim, it will increase the amount of Brady training.  Vice versa, if the Court says that it doesn't, then it may decrease the amount of training, as the DA Offices may just decide to risk it and not train their prosecutors, knowing that the odds of civil liability will only occur if there are multiple violations.

One other thing to note about the case, I guess that a book has been written about the underlying criminal case.  It's called, Killing Time: An 18-Year Odyssey from Death Row to Freedom, written by John Hollway and Ronald Gaultier.  SCOTUSblog notes that Hollway has an article on Slate about the case (I haven't read it yet).

Habeas Corpus - The Autobiography of an Execution

In this Sunday's NYTimes, Dahlia Lithwick reviews a new book entitled, "The Autobiography of an Execution," by David Dow, who has represented more than 100 death row inmates in Texas over the course of 20 years.  The article can be found here.

There is an obvious habeas angle to the story as death penalty cases invariably take a trip through habeasland.  And Dow seems to come down pretty hard on federal judges in his book.  According to Lithwick, one of his complaints is "[f]ederal judges named to the federal bench because they are pals with a senator overlook deeply flawed trials."  That's a quote from the article not the book.

The structure of the book seems to be a little similar to Claudia Trupp's book (discussed here) in which she discussed how she balanced the demanding obligations of representing indigent defendants against the responsibilities of motherhood.  By the way, I loved Claudia's book, and not just because she is an attorney in my office.  According to Lithwick, Dow discusses how he relied upon his family life to act as his escape from the emotional trauma of having to represent capital defendants in an unjust system.

Lithwick's review of the book is both positive and negative.  On the positive side, she states, "What Dow exposes in this dark, raw memoir is not just a dispassionate machinery of death that cannot be slowed, reversed or mediated by truth, logic or fact. He also exposes the inner life of a man who, in the face of all that, cannot give up the fight."

On the negative, she points out that Dow admittedly does not provide a completely accurate discussion of the facts of the cases due to attorney-client privilege.  She has trouble with this.  She states, "But having created a brilliant, heart-rending book that can’t be properly fact-checked, Dow almost seems to have joined the ranks of people who will privilege emotion over detail, and narrative over precision."

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to check it out.  Probably have to wait until the summer.  Sounds like some nice, light summer reading.

Habeas Corpus - Book Club

Claudia Trupp, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes: A Mother's Tale of Law and Disorder

Okay, I admit it.  This book isn't exactly about habeas corpus.  I believe that it is tangentially related to habeas corpus since some of the real cases upon which the book is based are now on habeas review.  But I am not really sure about that since all of the names are changed.  I also haven't yet read the book (however I have read the positive reviews posted here).

But I really wanted to mention the book here since Claudia, who works in my office, is a truly amazing attorney.  She is one of the most dedicated, hard-working and thoughtful attorneys I have ever met.  I am in awe of how much energy and passion she can bring to her work.  But it is not just her passion that stands out.  She is a highly effective advocate and wins cases that others would not.  She is also very funny and brings a wonderful perspective to the work.  I believe that this combination of humor and passion is precisely why her book has received such positive reviews.

Anyways, I mention the book since she is going to be having a book reading at the Barnes & Noble at 82nd and Broadway in Manhattan, this Thursday, May 7th at 7:00 p.m.  I am really looking forward to it.

You can buy the book here.