Federal Habeas Corpus

We will examination the history and development of the writ of habeas corpus in the courts of the United States. Habeas corpus, known as the Great Writ, traces its history from the Magna Carta through the current term in the Supreme Court. It is the tool by which an imprisoned person petitions a court to review the lawfulness of his custody and to order his release. The building blocks of the course include constitutional law, criminal procedure, Congressional statutes, and Supreme Court precedents. We will learn the nuts and bolts of modern federal habeas practice by studying the tales of people imprisoned by English kings, American presidents, state court juries, and federal judges. Through the lens of habeas corpus, we will also confront questions central to today’s world, including race, immigration, crime-and-punishment, the death penalty, and war.