Foreword
[From: California Habeas Handbook, 5TH Edition (2006)]
On April 24, 1996, a groundbreaking new habeas corpus law took effect that authorized Congress to completely take over the habeas corpus field that had previously been governed primarily by court decisions. Although the 1996 law was called the "Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act", it had very little to do with terrorism or the death penalty, and plenty to do with cutting back on a federal court's authority to overturn state criminal convictions on habeas corpus. In any event, "AEDPA" – now so known throughout the courts and so referred to in this book – has taken over contemporary habeas corpus litigation, and a solid understanding of AEDPA is absolutely crucial for any prisoner trying to attack a conviction or sentence on habeas corpus.
This 5th Edition of the California Habeas Handbook is being published on the 10th anniversary of AEDPA’s enactment into law in 1996. In the First Edition of the Handbook, written just as AEDPA took effect, I predicted that the federal courts would hold prisoners to the tough requirements of AEDPA; and I also expressed the hope that state courts would step up and give habeas corpus the extra time and attention that was merited by the additional respect that state habeas judgments would be given under ADEPA. Unfortunately, my prediction has come true but my hope has not: The federal courts have indeed applied the provisions of ADEPA with as much or maybe even more "deference" to state court decisions than the drafters of the law intended. However, for the most part, the state courts – including those in California – have continued to treat habeas corpus like an unwelcome guest. In other words, even though under ADEPA the federal courts are required to give state habeas denials even more deference than they did before, in most instances the state courts still accord habeas corpus petitions the same kind of hasty, superficial review that they always have.
Furthermore, ADEPA, for the fist time in U.S. history, imposes a strict time limit on the filing of a federal habeas corpus petition, but leaves in place the traditional requirement that all federal habeas corpus claims must have been first presented to the state courts “(exhausted”) before they will even be considered in federal court. The federal time limit is suspended while state habeas corpus proceedings are going forward, but only after they have actually been started up and only if petitions are “properly filed”. Consequently, ADEPA creates a new and formidable dilemma for state prisoners: On the one hand, because the ADEPA statute of limitations puts a strict time limit on federal habeas corpus petitions that is only tolled after state habeas corpus litigation is actually underway, state prisoners have to act promptly to prepare and file state habeas corpus petitions in order to exhaust potential federal habeas corpus claims. At the same time, however, because no claims or facts can be relied on in federal court that were not previously exhausted in state court, a state habeas petition, which is usually the first step in a successful habeas corpus challenge, will have to be drafted comprehensively enough to contain all the key facts and key cases on which the federal habeas claims are based. In other words, under ADEPA, prisoners have to act both more quickly and more carefully than ever before in preparing and filing state habeas corpus petitions, and in proceeding to federal court in the very likely event that the state courts will deny any relief.
Finally, most prisoners will have to deal with ADEPA’s requirements without counsel to advise them. Although there is a constitutional right to counsel on the first ("direct") appeal, there is no right to appointed counsel on habeas corpus in non-capital cases. Hence, except for the prisoners whose families can afford to pay private counsel, prisoners will have to face the formidable challenge of ADEPA on their own.
The California Habeas Handbook was written to help prisoners meet these new and daunting challenges in a practical and common-sense way. Therefore, I did not design the California Habeas Handbook as a comprehensive textbook for experienced lawyers. Rather, the Handbook is written to explain to prisoners and their families, in plain English, just how habeas corpus works in the wake of ADEPA, what a "petitioner" needs to know before making the commitment to wage the habeas corpus battle, and how to get in the courthouse door if and when the decision is made to accept the challenge. As a result, for prisoners who do use this book to draft their own petitions on their own ("in pro per"), it will help them to file their petitions properly, and to get by the all-important screening stage of habeas corpus, where the vast majority of prisoner petitions bite the dust.
Chapter 1 of the Handbook addresses the question, "Who Needs This Book?”, so that readers can immediately get an idea of the extent to which the California Habeas Handbook can help them in dealing with their own cases. The next four chapters of the Handbook provide a "crash course" on state and federal habeas: Chapter 2 introduces ADEPA’s statute of limitations, which all prisoners must be aware of before even considering whether or not to attack their convictions on habeas corpus. In Chapter 3, I give you a brief history of habeas corpus and how it fits into the framework of federalism, balancing respect for state courts against the importance of the precious rights guaranteed by the federal Constitution. In Chapter 4, I focus on state habeas corpus: I explain how direct appeal, exhaustion of state remedies, and state habeas corpus fit together into ADEPA framework, and then I lead you through all the steps involved in filing a California state habeas corpus petition and pursuing it all the way through the California Supreme Court. In Chapter 5, I explain the nuts and bolts of federal habeas corpus, and then I walk you through the entire federal habeas corpus process “from cradle to grave”.
The next two chapters in the Handbook are a how-to guide for overcoming the many procedural barriers to filing a habeas corpus petition. Chapter 6, using California as an example, shows you how to clear the hurdles to habeas corpus that exist under state law without incurring a “state procedural default” that will prevent you from ever getting past first base on federal habeas corpus. Chapter 7 guides you through the barriers to federal habeas corpus, showing you how to navigate past the additional minefields ADEPA has scattered across the federal habeas corpus landscape.
Chapter 8 puts you at ground zero of the habeas corpus battle, walking you through the official forms for state and federal habeas corpus question by question. First, using the California official form as an example, I give you step-by-step instructions for filling out a state habeas corpus petition. Then I do the same thing with the federal habeas corpus form, using the generic form for a petition for writ of federal habeas corpus petition by a state prisoner (28 USC § 2254). In Chapter 9, I show you how to take on the most challenging aspect of the habeas petition -- drafting the habeas corpus grounds. You will learn to do this using a unique, easy-to-use formula I have devised in conjunction with my “Habeas Grounds Table”: a listing of well over 100 U.S. Supreme Court decisions, side by side with a short title which describes the claim, a statement of the habeas ground supported by the claim, and an official citation to the U.S. Supreme Court case from which the claim is derived.
Finally, for those readers who wish to take advantage of the option of having me personally assist with state or federal habeas corpus, Chapter 10 of the Handbook explains how you can retain me to evaluate your habeas corpus case; and, if it appears to have merit, to have me represent you on state and/or federal habeas corpus.
Finally, the Appendix contains a set of forms that you can use as models or templates in your own cases.
New in the 5th Edition
The 5th Edition of the California Habeas Handbook contains the most popular features of earlier versions of the Handbook. Furthermore, the 5th Edition contains the following improvements and innovations:
“Habeas Grounds Table” Improvements
In light of the AEDPA requirement that habeas corpus claims be supported by the holdings of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, my “Habeas Grounds Table” (called the “Habeas Claims Table” in previous editions) continues to list the holdings and citations of the principal U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have supported successful habeas corpus claims though the years. However, in the 5th Edition, not only has the Habeas Claims Table has been updated to include decisions coming down through the 2006 publication date, but in addition the Table has been enhanced by the addition of a brand new column which provides a plain statement of the constitutional right on which the decision is based. Furthermore, the Table has been re-organized so that the habeas claims are each given a short title summarizing the claim in a couple of words, and all the claims are now sorted into categories corresponding to the stage of the proceedings where the claim will arise, thus making it easier than ever to find the claim or claims that are closest to the facts of a particular prisoner’s case. These new features will make the Habeas Claims Table more “user-friendly” than it was in previous editions.
“Habeas Hints” and Case Law Updated
For several years, as a quarterly columnist for the Prison Legal News, my increasingly popular column “Habeas Hints” has been a source for the latest developments in habeas corpus law throughout the country. The 5th Edition incorporates the most useful “Habeas Hints” into the text of the California Habeas Handbook, and includes columns and recent cases appearing through the first half of 2006.
Appendix
Contains Actual Habeas Documents Filed By My Office
The Appendix to the 5th Edition now contains a special new feature: excerpts from actual habeas corpus documents that have been filed by my law office, Russell and Russell. This new section of the Appendix contains statements of habeas grounds, the Traverse, objections to the Magistrate’s Report and Recommendation, Notice of Appeal, applications for Certificate of Appealability, briefs, and more. Although these forms are edited down and reduced in size to accommodate space limitations in this book, prisoners who have the California Habeas Handbook can now get the full flavor of the format and the presentation of habeas documents that have actually been filed by one of the leading habeas corpus law firms in the country.
