Law Commons^™

The Exhaustion Doctrine In Federal Habeas Corpus: An Argument For A Return To First Principles, Larry Yackle

Faculty Scholarship

The exhaustion doctrine in federal habeas corpus contemplates not the relinquishment of federal jurisdiction to determine the merits of federal claims arising in state criminal prosecutions, but the appropriate timing of an undoubted federal power to adjudicate in due course. Simply stated, the doctrine postpones federal review until petitioners have exhausted state judicial remedies still available for the treatment of their federal claims at the time they wish to apply for federal relief. The resulting delay is justified on the twin grounds that earlier federal intervention would disrupt the orderly administration of state criminal prosecutions and deprive the state courts …