Do federal courts ever grant state prisoners' petitions for habeas corpus?

Question

How often? 1% ? Less?

Just to clarify, I'm NOT in prison. I was just curious

Answer 1

It does happen, but it's very rare. They know that most state's courts are quite fair, and also that lawyers are paid to do everything they can to delay punishment, so they often routinely file meritless applications for habeas corpus. Unless there is a clear, compelling reason, it is usually not granted.

Answer 2

The Supreme Court overruled the argument that the constitution or rights of habeas corpus do not apply in Rasul v. Bush. Civil rights however, may be suspended in time of war, and Habeas corpus relates to criminal proceedings and not to "enemy combatants," who may be detained for the duration of "the war" See Padilla. Al Mari was not an enemy combatant because he was caught in the US and never actually fought. In Al Mari v. Wright The court held that "Because Congress has not empowered the President to subject civilian alien terrorists within the United States to indefinite military detention... we need not, and do not, determine whether such a grant of authority would violate the Constitution. Rather, we simply hold that the Constitution does not provide the President acting alone with this authority". The law now provides adequate relief for detainees and until all provisions for judicial review are exhausted, the controversy is not ripe for Supreme Court review. But see Justices Stevens and Kennedy's dissent in Boumedienne. Interesting issue, I'll have to study it more later.

Answer 3

The writ of habeas corpus serves as an important check on the manner in which state courts pay respect to federal constitutional rights. The writ is "the fundamental instrument for safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary and lawless state action." Harris v. Nelson, 394 U.S. 286, 290-91 (1969). Because the habeas process delays the finality of a criminal case, however, the Supreme Court in recent years has attempted to police the writ to ensure that the costs of the process do not exceed its manifest benefits. In McCleskey the Court raised barriers against successive and abusive petitions. The Court raised these barriers based on significant concerns about delay, cost, prejudice to the prosecution, frustration of the sovereign power of the States, and the "heavy burden" federal collateral litigation places on "scarce federal judicial resources," a burden that "threatens the capacity of the system to resolve primary disputes." McCleskey, 499 U.S. at 467

Answer 4

As like most answers here, it is yes. You can go to Findlaw.com and check out the courts there on a search for habeas corpus. It will give you cases on that but then you would have to do your own footwork for the number of cases that were granted and then get your percentage of the ones granted on HC.

Answer 5

Extremely rare. Hundreds of thousands of inmates file such petitions every year. If you are not represented by counsel, your chances are very slim - much less than 1%. And most are met by a written denial.

With competent counsel, I would put the odds at less than 3% that you will actually see a court room. Most likely, your attorney will get a letter of denial.

An actual review with hearing is very unlikely. Don't get you hopes up. Sorry.

Answer 6

Yes, sometimes they do.

Coming up with a statistic would require a lot of research (you could always try Yahoo Search), but it does happen.

There are several reasons for a Habeas petition, and the percentages vary depending upon the reasons for the petition.

Answer 7

I agree with several the answers. rcharles is correct - it is very rare that you actually get anything other than a written denial. I don't currently practice in federal court, but as a law clerk several years ago, I saw nearly every petition denied. There are literally thousands upon thousands filed in every district and every circuit each year, nearly all are utterrly without merit.

Answer 8

Yes, it happens all the time. Coming up with a statistic would require a lot of work that just isn't worth it for 2 points and no cash. Of course, George W. Bush and his cohorts have been working hard to get rid of Habeus Corpus.

Answer 9

Statistically (and otherwise) the reason would not change the percentages, as the question was how often it was EVER granted. That's all-inclusive.

Answer 10

I'm not sure how often, but it isn't all that uncommon. In fact, it just happened in Alabama, about 6 months ago.