Law Commons^™

Possible Reliance: Protecting Legally Innocent Johnson Claimants, Keagan Potts

Michigan Law Review

The writ of habeas corpus presents the last chance for innocent defendants to obtain relief from invalid convictions and sentences. The writ constitutes a limited exception to the finality of judgments. Given the role finality plays in conserving judicial resources and deterring criminal conduct, exceptions created by habeas must be principally circumscribed. Since the Supreme Court’s invalidation of the Armed Career Criminal Act’s residual clause in Johnson v. United States, the federal courts of appeals have attempted to develop a test that protects the writ from abuse by Johnson claimants.

This Note first contributes a new understanding of the …

A Suspended Death Sentence: Habeas Review Of Expedited Removal Decisions, Lauren Schusterman

Michigan Law Review

Expedited removal allows low-level immigration officers to summarily order the deportation of certain noncitizens, frequently with little to no judicial oversight. Noncitizens with legitimate asylum claims should not find themselves in expedited removal. When picked up by immigration authorities, they should be referred for a credible fear interview and then for more thorough proceedings.

Although there is clear congressional intent that asylum seekers not be subjected to expedited removal, mounting evidence suggests that expedited removal fails to identify bona fide asylum seekers. Consequently, many of them are sent back to persecution. Such decisions have weighty consequences, but they have remained …

What Is "New"?: Defining "New Judgement" After Magwood, Patrick Cothern

Michigan Law Review

Habeas corpus petitioners must navigate the procedural barriers of the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”) before courts consider their petitions on the merits. Among the barriers imposed is a general prohibition on “second or successive” habeas petitions, meaning a petitioner who previously filed a habeas petition may not bring another, with limited exceptions. One such exception, recognized by the Supreme Court in Magwood v. Patterson, allows for a second habeas petition after the petitioner obtains a “new judgment.” Magwood and AEDPA, however, left the term “new judgment” undefined. This Note summarizes the history of habeas corpus in the …

Looking Backward And Forward At The Suspension Clause, G. Edward White

Michigan Law Review

Review of Amanda L. Tyler's Habeas Corpus in Wartime: From the Tower of London to Guantanamo Bay.

Pinholster's Hostility To Victims Of Ineffective State Habeas Counsel, Jennifer Utrecht

Michigan Law Review

Cullen v. Pinholster foreclosed federal courts from considering new evidence when reviewing 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) petitions for claims previously adjudicated on the merits in state court. This decision has a particularly adverse effect on petitioners whose state habeas counsel left an incomplete or undeveloped record. This Note discusses strategies for victims of ineffective state habeas counsel to avoid the hostile mandate of Pinholster. It argues that, in light of Martinez v. Ryan’s recognition of the importance of counsel in initialreview collateral proceedings, courts should be wary of dismissing claims left un- or underdeveloped by ineffective state habeas counsel. It …

The Demise Of Habeas Corpus And The Rise Of Qualified Immunity: The Court's Ever Increasing Limitations On The Development And Enforcement Of Constitutional Rights And Some Particularly Unfortunate Consequences, Stephen R. Reinhardt

Michigan Law Review

The collapse of habeas corpus as a remedy for even the most glaring of constitutional violations ranks among the greater wrongs of our legal era. Once hailed as the Great Writ, and still feted with all the standard rhetorical flourishes, habeas corpus has been transformed over the past two decades from a vital guarantor of liberty into an instrument for ratifying the power of state courts to disregard the protections of the Constitution. Along with so many other judicial tools meant to safeguard the powerless, enforce constitutional rights, and hold the government accountable, habeas has been slowly eroded by a …

To Plea Or Not To Plea: Retroactive Availability Of Padilla V. Kentucky To Noncitizen Defendants On State Postconviction Review, Jaclyn Kelley

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

The United States incarcerates hundreds of thousands of noncitizen criminal defendants each year. In 2010, there were about 55,000 "criminal aliens" in federal prisons, accounting for approximately 25 percent of all federal prisoners. In 2009, there were about 296,000 noncitizens in state and local jails. Like Jose, these defendants usually do not know that their convictions may make them automatically deportable under the INA. Under the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Padilla v. Kentucky, criminal defense attorneys have an affirmative duty to give specific, accurate advice to noncitizen clients regarding the deportation risk of potential pleas. This rule helps assure …

Agency And Equity: Why Do We Blame Clients For Their Lawyers' Mistakes, Adam Liptak

Michigan Law Review

If you were to ask a child whether it would be fair to execute a prisoner because his lawyer had made a mistake, the answer would be no. You might even get a look suggesting that you had asked a pretty stupid question. But judges treat the issue as a hard one, relying on a theory as casually accepted in criminal justice as it is offensive to principles of moral philosophy. This theory holds that the lawyer is the client's agent. What the agent does binds the principal. But clients and lawyers fit the agency model imperfectly. Agency law is …

Examining Presidential Power Through The Rubric Of Equity, Eric A. White

Michigan Law Review

In this Note I propose a method to examine presidents' actions taken outside the normal bounds of executive power by employing the general rubric of equity, in an attempt to find when the president acts with what I term "practical legitimacy." This would be a new category for executive actions that, while perhaps arguably illegal, are so valuable that we want to treat them as legitimate exercises of executive power. To do so, I first examine the history of equity, noting the many relevant parallels to our modern conception of executive power In light of these parallels, I argue that …

Mostly Harmless: An Analysis Of Post-Aedpa Federal Habeas Corpus Review Of State Harmless Error Determinations, Jeffrey S. Jacobi

Michigan Law Review

Sixty years ago, in Kotteakos v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that a small class of so-called harmless errors committed by courts did not require correction. The Court acknowledged that some judicial errors, though recognizable as errors, did not threaten the validity of criminal convictions and therefore did not quite require reversal. Specifically, the Court held that errors that violated federal statutes should be deemed harmless unless they had a "substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury's verdict." While Kotteakos represented the Supreme Court's first treatment of the concept of harmlessness, other courts had a …

When Constitutional Worlds Colide: Resurrecting The Framers' Bill Of Rights And Criminal Procedure, George C. Thomas Iii

Michigan Law Review

For two hundred years, the Supreme Court has been interpreting the Bill of Rights. Imagine Chief Justice John Marshall sitting in the dim, narrow Supreme Court chambers, pondering the interpretation of the Sixth Amendment right to compulsory process in United States v. Burr. Aaron Burr was charged with treason for planning to invade the Louisiana Territory and create a separate government there. To help prepare his defense, Burr wanted to see a letter written by General James Wilkinson to President Jefferson. In ruling on Burr's motion to compel disclosure, Marshall departed from the literal language of the Sixth Amendment - …

Incorporating The Suspension Clause: Is There A Constitutional Right To Federal Habeas Corpus For State Prisoners?, Jordan Steiker

Michigan Law Review

In the early 1960s, the Supreme Court adopted generous standards governing federal habeas petitions by state prisoners. At that time, the Court suggested, rather surprisingly, that its solicitude toward such petitions might be constitutionally mandated by the Suspension Clause, the only provision in the Constitution that explicitly refers to the "Writ of Habeas Corpus." Now, thirty years later, the Court has essentially overruled those expansive rulings, and Congress has considered, though not yet enacted, further limitations on the availability of the writ. Despite these significant assaults on the habeas forum, the constitutional argument appears to have been entirely abandoned. The …

Guilt: Henry Friendly Meets The Maharal Of Prague, Irene Merker Rosenberg, Yale L. Rosenberg

Michigan Law Review

So while the overnight deliberation rule is at least partially bound up with the question of reliability and relates to the judicial process itself, the broader and more fundamental issue raised by this law is whether we should free the guilty to preserve a value that we deem necessary to proper working of the criminal justice process, regardless of the culpability of individual defendants. To this Judge Friendly's answer is generally no, 113 and the MaHaRaL's is yes.

Form And Function In The Administration Of Justice: The Bill Of Rights And Federal Habeas Corpus, Larry W. Yackle

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Part I critiques the Report's insistence that accurate fact finding exhausts, or nearly exhausts, the objectives of criminal justice, identifies the fundamental role of the Bill of Rights in the American political order, and situates federal habeas corpus within that framework. Part II traces the Report's historical review of the federal habeas jurisdiction and critiques the Report's too-convenient reliance on selected materials that, on examination, fail to undermine conventional understandings of the writ's development as a postconviction remedy. Part III responds to the Report's complaints regarding current habeas corpus practice and refutes contentions that the habeas jurisdiction overburdens federal dockets …

Federal Habeas Corpus Review Of State Judgments, Department Of Justice Office Of Legal Policy

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Report carries out a review of the historical development of the federal habeas corpus jurisdiction; examines its contemporary character and operation; and discusses relevant policy considerations. The Report concludes that federal habeas corpus as a post-conviction remedy for state prisoners should be abolished or limited as far as possible. The limited reform proposals that were passed by the Senate in 1984 and that are currently before Congress as Title II of the proposed Criminal Justice Reform Act provide the best immediate prospect for improvement.

Habeas Corpus: Its History And Its Future, Charles Alan Wright

Michigan Law Review

A Review of A Constitutional History of Habeas Corpus by William F. Duker

Stone V. Powell And The Effective Assistance Of Counsel, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Part I briefly identifies the considerations underlying the Stone Court's decision to limit habeas corpus review of fourth amendment claims. Part II then argues against applying Stone to the sixth amendment claim. After establishing the analytic difference between the two constitutional claims and examining Stone's "opportunity for full and fair litigation" standard, it concludes that Stone is fully consistent with free review of habeas corpus petitions alleging incompetent handling of fourth amendment questions. Finally, responding to a popular interpretation of Stone, Part II demonstrates that the possibility that ineffectiveness claims may not further the determination of a defendant's …

Beyond Custody: Expanding Collateral Review Of State Convictions, Timothy C. Hester

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article advocates extension of collateral review to embrace all parties alleging deprivation of federally guaranteed rights in the state criminal process, regardless of whether the party fulfills the habeas corpus custody requirement. Part I assesses the sufficiency of Supreme Court certiorari jurisdiction to monitor adequately state adjudications of federal constitutional rights, coupled with an evaluation of the technical competency and institutional posture of state courts. Part II examines the significance of the custody limitation on collateral review, both as a substantive element of habeas corpus relief and as a mechanism for funnelling limited judicial resources. Part III presents two …

Habeas Corpus - Procedural Prerequisites - Motion Denied For Failure To Appeal Convicion Despite Failure Being Excusable, Harvey O. Mierke Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was convicted of robbery in a federal district court and, although represented by counsel, failed to appeal within the statutory ten-day period. Three months later he filed a motion in the same court under section 2255 of the judicial code to vacate the sentence on the ground that the conviction, because it was based on a coerced confession, was unconstitutionally obtained without due process of law. The motion was denied and the denial affirmed, in the absence of any attempt to excuse the failure to appeal. On reargument, plaintiff attempted to excuse his failure to appeal by alleging that …

Constitutional Law - Post-Conviction Due Process - Right Of Indigent To Review Of Non-Constitutional Trial Errors, Robert C. Casad S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this comment is to examine a new development. in post-conviction due process: Griffin v. Illinois. This case announces a new principle of constitutional right under the Fourteenth Amendment based on an almost indistinguishable combination of due process and equal protection elements.

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Use Of Habeas Corpus To Allow Federal Court To Review State Court Jury Determination Of Voluntariness Of Confession, Herbert R. Brown S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The prisoner had been convicted of murder in the state court. He brought a habeas corpus proceeding in federal district court to secure his release from custody on the ground that the conviction was based on a confession which was obtained by physical violence. The confession had been submitted to the jury, which was instructed to consider it only if it found that it was not obtained by duress or fear produced by threats. The district court granted the writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, held, affirmed. The district court could determine the facts of the case for itself. …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Scope Of Inquiry In Habeas Corpus Petitions From Military Prisoner, Eugene Alkema

Michigan Law Review

Petitioners, military personnel, were convicted by courts martial of rape and murder. After exhausting military appellate remedies, they petitioned federal civil courts for writs of habeas corpus on the ground that they had been convicted in proceedings denying them basic constitutional rights. The petitions were denied. On appeal, held, affirmed, two justices dissenting. When the record shows that military courts have fairly considered all of the allegations of the petitioners and have found no denial of constitutional rights, civil courts in habeas corpus proceedings will not hear evidence on the merits of the allegations. Burns v. Wilson, 346 …

Constitutional Law-Aliens-Power To Exclude And Deny Hearing, Lois H. Hambro S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In two similar cases, petitioners sought a writ of habeas corpus from federal district courts in order to obtain release from federal immigration authorities. Both were aliens who had been lawful permanent residents at the time they left the country. Mezei had allegedly gone abroad to visit his dying mother, and his return to the United States had been delayed by difficulty in securing an exit permit. Kwong Hai Chew had left the country to sail aboard a vessel of American registry, prior to which he had been screened by the United States Coast Guard. He had also served in …

Constitutional Law-Review Of State Court Determination-Supreme Court's Vacation Of State Court Judgment Without Giving Grounds For Reversal, Marcus A. Rowden S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States granted plaintiff's petition for certiorari to review a decision of the Supreme Court of California summarily denying plaintiff's application for habeas corpus. Previously the cause had been continued to enable petitioner to secure a determination of the California Supreme Court as to whether its judgment was intended to rest on an adequate independent state ground. It was later held that a letter from the clerk of that court was not a sufficient determination of that question, and petitioner was still unable to obtain that determination. Held, judgment of the Supreme Court of …

Constitutional Law-Equal Protection-Use Of Property And Poll Tax Lists For Selection Of Jurors, Alfred W. Blumrosen S.Ed

Michigan Law Review

Brown, a Negro, was convicted of a capital offense in Forsyth County, North Carolina. Having exhausted his state remedies, he petitioned the federal district court for a writ of habeas corpus alleging, inter alia, systematic discrimination against Negroes serving on grand and petit juries. This discrimination was claimed to result from the use of property and poll tax lists as sources from which to draw jury panels. The district court denied his petition and was affirmed by the court of appeals. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, affirmed. The use of property and poll tax lists …

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Right To Counsel In State Courts, Charles Myneder

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was tried before a jury on a charge of larceny, convicted and sentenced to a penitentiary term. He did not request counsel, and the court made no offer to appoint counsel. In the course of the trial, petitioner was prejudiced by his failure to object to certain errors in evidence. In a petition for habeas corpus in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, he alleged denial of a constitutional right of counsel. On answer, it was averred that in petitioner's conduct of his own defense he displayed a "familiarity with legal process in the criminal courts." A transcript of petitioner's …

Constitutional Law - Criminal Law And Procedure - Right To Effective Assistance Of Counsel, Walter Muller

Michigan Law Review

Robbery of a Federal Reserve Bank and jeopardizing lives by the use of dangerous weapons were the charges brought against defendant in a federal district court. Ten months after being taken into custody, he was finally brought to trial. On the latter date, for the first time, the defendant expressed to the court a desire to engage different counsel because of recent difficulties he had had with his original choice. The defendant was the complaining petitioner in a pending disbarment proceeding against his attorney. But the record did not show that the defendant disclosed the nature of those differences to …

Congress And The Appellate Jurisdiction Of The Supreme Court, Ralph R. Martig

Michigan Law Review

A democratic government such as ours, based upon the theory of popular sovereignty, presents many curious political phenomena. For example: in order to insure a proper balance of the powers, it has been necessary for the Supreme Court to assume the onerous task of passing upon the constitutionality of congressional legislation. It is unfortunate, but necessary, that the Court be obliged to exercise this power of judicial review at a time when the entire country is suffering from the effects of a severe and sustained economic depression. It is unfortunate, too, that the legislation under judicial examination should involve questions …

Constitutional Law - Power Of Congress To Punish For Contempt - Power To Punish For Completed Acts

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was attorney for certain air lines and during the course of the "Air Mail" contracts investigation in the Senate in 1934 was ordered to produce certain correspondence. He delayed, claiming an attorney's privileges, and either he or his partner allowed clients to remove certain of the papers asked for from his files. Some of the papers were later returned by the clients, and others were destroyed. Petitioner was committed for contempt of the Senate and brought habeas corpus proceedings. Held, (1) neither the fact that an obstruction of legislative process has been removed or that its removal has …

Indemnity Act Of 1863 A Study In The War-Time Immunity Of Governmental Officers, James G. Randall

Michigan Law Review

One of the familiar measures of the Union administration during the Civil War was the suspension of the habeas corpus privilege and the consequent subjection of civilians to military authority. The essential irregularity of such a situation in American law is especially conspicuous when one considers its inevitable sequel-namely, the protection of military and civil officers from such prosecution as would normally follow invasion of private rights and actual injury of persons and property. Such protection was supplied by a bill of indemnity passed in 1863, and this law, with its amendment of i866, forms a significant chapter in the …