|
|
Article: A reasoning-process review model for federal habeas corpus.
- Article from:
- Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
- Article date:
- June 22, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Northwestern University, School of Law. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
For more than a century, judges and commentators have debated the standard of review applied in federal habeas corpus cases, i.e. collateral attacks on state criminal convictions in federal court. (1) Prior to 1996, the federal statute creating habeas jurisdiction did not specify a degree of scrutiny, and the standard applied by the courts varied over time in vaguely articulated ways untethered to the statutory language. (2) In 1996, Congress enacted the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, which, for the first time, explicitly included a standard of review. (3) It permits a federal habeas court to grant the writ only if a state court decision was "contrary to, ...