by Jacob Barrett and Dale Chappell
The general public’s familiarity with the government’s use of informants in criminal proceedings is largely confined to movies and TV documentaries. Yet, every year, the government negotiates tens of thousands of deals “off the record,” which are subject to few restrictions and have little ...
by Dale Chappell
In a decision that further narrows the federal habeas corpus remedy, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a claim under a new, retroactive U.S. Supreme Court ruling to allow a second or successive (“SOS”) habeas petition was not ...
by Dale Chappell
The Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) held that a federal court may not extend the remedy it created over 50 years ago in Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), which authorized a lawsuit against federal officials based on alleged ...
by Dale Chappell
Expanding the savings clause yet again, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the one-year time limit for filing a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 rendered the remedy “inadequate or ineffective” to invoke the savings clause and vacated an illegal sentence.
At ...
Why don’t federal judges follow the recommended sentences for child porn offenders? Here’s a government report answering that question.
by Dale Chappell
If Congress wants to complain that federal judges are “too lenient” on child pornography offenders, it may want to take a look at a recent report by the ...
by Dale Chappell
The Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS” or “Court”) held that a federal court’s transportation order permitting a prisoner to seek out new evidence pursuant to the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651, which authorizes federal courts to “issue all writs necessary or appropriate in ...
by Dale Chappell
Federal law says that you have the “right” to appeal the denial of federal habeas corpus relief, but there’s a catch—only if the court says that you can. Congress limited the ability to appeal the denial of habeas relief under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act ...
by Dale Chappell
In resolving a split among U.S. Courts of Appeals, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) held on June 21, 2022, that an attempted Hobbs Act robbery is not categorically a crime of violence to support a separate conviction for use of a firearm under federal ...
by Dale Chappell
In a ruling that will likely change how petitioners in federal habeas corpus cases challenge “mistakes” in their cases, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) held that the term “mistake” in Rule 60(b)(1) includes judicial errors of law and that motions cognizable under that Rule ...
by Dale Chappell
Jurisdiction has many meanings, but in federal habeas corpus, it refers to the federal court’s authority to grant relief. While there’s all sort of “shalls” and “musts” in the federal habeas statutes, not all of them are jurisdictional bars to relief. In fact, most of these ...
