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Article: Justices weave intricate web of habeas corpus decisions.
- Article from:
- Trial
- Article date:
- December 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 American Association for Justice, formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA®). 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)
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Five years ago, Congress enacted the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). (1) At the time, many felt that the bill's title was a misnomer, because the legislation had very little to do with terrorism--other than the fact that the Oklahoma City bombing provided the political cover for the habeas corpus, prison litigation, and immigration restrictions contained in it.
Recent events have demonstrated brutally how little we really knew about terrorism five years ago. Today, as one by-product of the terrible attacks of September 11, we are witnessing a serious debate about the propriety and the wisdom of suspending the writ of habeas corpus. ...