Law Commons^™

The Sacrifice Of Unarmed Prisoners To Gladiators: The Post-Aedpa Access-To-The-Courts Demand For A Constitutional Right To Counsel In Federal Habeas Corpus, Emily S. Garcia Uhrig

Emily S. Garcia Uhrig

Abstract

This article argues for a constitutional right to counsel in all initial federal habeas corpus proceedings based on access-to-the-courts doctrine. The doctrine guarantees an indigent inmate a constitutional right to meaningful access to the courts in incarceration-related litigation, including postconviction proceedings. The Supreme Court initially articulated the access right, in relevant part, as merely prohibiting states from actively interfering with an indigent inmate’s efforts at pursuing postconviction relief from a criminal judgment. Though still fairly inscrutable in dimension, in certain circumstances the access right requires states to provide affirmative assistance to inmates to ensure constitutionally adequate access to the …