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Habeas Hints
by Kent Russell
This column is intended to provide habeas hints to prisoners who are considering or handling habeas corpus petitions as their own attorneys (in pro per). The focus of the column is habeas corpus practice under AEDPA, the 1996 habeas corpus law which now governs habeas corpus …
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More from this issue:
- Taser: The "Less Lethal" Weapon with a Fatal Attraction to Prisoners, by John Dannenberg
- Board of Commissioners Clears PHS In Three Leon County (Florida) Jail Deaths, by John Dannenberg
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Focus on Sex Offenders Increases While Number of Sex Offenses Decline
- Attempted Arrest of Federal Prison Guards in Florida Turns Deadly, by Michael Rigby
- Panel Suggests Using Prisoners in Drug Trials, by Ian Urbina
- PLNs Publication-Ban Suit Against Kansas DOC Set For Trial On Declaratory And Injunctive Relief, by John Dannenberg
- Massachusetts Prisoner Awarded $60,000 For Electrical Shock
- Delaware Law: Punishing Prisoners for Reporting Sexual Abuse by Guards, by David Reutter
- Oregon Guard Gets 32 Months For Sex With Prisoner
- Habeas Hints, by Kent A. Russell
- Report on Status of Guantanamo Prisoners Released; Controversy Continues, by Matthew T. Clarke
- California Guard Convicted of Abetting Prison Gang
- Texas Prisoner Gets 40 Years For Cellphone; Guards Get Probation, by Michael Rigby
- Audit Criticizes Management of ODOC Financial Computer System
- Years Long Pattern of Medical Neglect Defeats Summary Judgment, by David Reutter
- Florida DOC Cuts Prisoner Collect Call Costs by 30%, by David Reutter
- Arkansas County Pays $40,000 To Handicapped Man Raped In Jail, by Michael Rigby
- EMSA, Florida County to Pay $500,000 for Untreated Ectopic Pregnancy, by Michael Rigby
- Arkansas Mayor, Sheriff, Wife Jailed for Burglary, Drugs, Sex and More, by Gary Hunter
- Audit Reveals California DOC Employees Illegally Received Holiday Pay for Scheduled Days Off
- $600,000 Settlement for Abuse at Maine Juvenile Prison
- Female Missouri Prisoners Make $291,000 as Sexy Pen Pals, AG Wants His Cut
- Michigan Prisoner Wins $20,000 on Failure to Protect Claim, by Michael Rigby
- Iowa Prisoners Settle Sexual Abuse Lawsuits For $160,000
- District of Columbia Jail Pays $14 Million For Over-Detentions and Strip Searches, by Bob Williams
- Nebraskas County Jails Neglect Mentally Disabled, by Gary Hunter
- Los Angeles County Pays $110,000 for Wrongful Jail Death
- Mumia Abu-Jamal Honored in Paris, France, by Gary Hunter
- Washington Liable for Negligent Parolee Supervision; Bad Jury Instruction Vacates $33 Million Verdic
- Massachusetts Prisoners Battle MRSA, Untreated Hepatitis C, by Michael Rigby
- Texas Jail Suicide Suit Settles For $300,000
- Virginia's General Assembly Sells Out Prisoners' Families for Phone Money, by Gary Hunter
- Supreme Court: Lethal Injection Procedure May Be Challenged Via § 1983, by John Dannenberg
- Maywood, Illinois Jail Settles Failure to Protect Suit For $750,000
- Beaten Texas Prisoner Who Was Denied Safekeeping Awarded $87,500, by Michael Rigby
- WA Youth Detention Officer Awarded $603,500; Remitted Damages Reinstated
- Michigan Prisoners Deliberate Indifference Claim Nets $73,906 In Fees
- New York Prisoner Paid $1.25 Million for Untreated Glaucoma
- $1.35 Million Settlement for Wrongful Death of Illinois Prisoner
- California Parole Board Squelches Life Prisoner Writs on Procedural Grounds
- Florida Gain Time Revocation Clarified
- L.A. County Pays $300,000 for Wrongful Death of Psychiatric Jail Prisoner
- Former Head New York Islamic Prison Chaplain Pleads Guilty in Gun Case
- WA Courts Cannot Extend Supervision Period for Sex Offenses Committed Before 1996
- New Yorks Son of Sam Law Constitutional, Damages Seized
- Floridas Felon Disenfranchisement Law Upheld, by David Reutter
- News in Brief:
- Successor Judge Needs Compelling Reason to Reopen Prior Judges Ruling
- No Qualified Immunity for Arkansas Detainees Miscarriage
More from Kent A. Russell:
- Habeas Hints: Understanding and Satisfying the Strickland Test for IAC, May 15, 2018
- Rundown on California Propositions 57 and 64, Jan. 10, 2017
- Habeas Hints: Staring Down the Two-Headed Monster: Richter-Pinholster, Dec. 15, 2013
- Habeas Hints: Staring Down the Two-Headed Monster: Richter-Pinholster, Nov. 15, 2013
- Habeas Hints: Actual Innocence, Sept. 15, 2013
- Habeas Hints: 2012 Supreme Court Habeas Highlights: Plea Bargaining Cases, Sept. 15, 2012
- Habeas Hints: Expert Testimony in Habeas Cases, Aug. 15, 2011
- Habeas Hints: The Year in Review, Feb. 15, 2011
- Habeas Hints: Certificate of Appealability, June 15, 2010
- HABEAS HINTS – CALIFORNIA COMMENT Pace and Bonner: Avoiding and Fighting “Untimeliness” Rulings Under California Law, Dec. 15, 2009
More from these topics:
- Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Failure to Address/Advise Defendant.
- SCOTUS Sides with Federal Prisoner in Habeas Review Case, March 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Predicate Acts/Offenses.
- SCOTUS Announces Federal Prisoners May Seek Certiorari Review of Authorization Denials Under § 2255(h) and Are Not Subject to § 2244(b)(1)’s Bar on Previously Presented Claims, Feb. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Six Female Alabama Jail Detainees’ Sexual Assault Suit, Jan. 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Summary Judgment, Limitations, Municipal Liability, Criminal Sexual Abuse.
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Courts Have Inherent Authority to Correct Unauthorized Sentences at Any Time Without Habeas Petition, Jan. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, Possession or Use of Firearms, Sentences - Authorized, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Effect of Vacatur.
- First Circuit Announces Modification of Juvenile’s Life-Without-Parole Sentence to Parole-Eligible Life Term Constitutes “New Judgment” Under AEDPA, Exempting Second-in-Time Habeas Petition From Gatekeeping Requirements, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole, Habeas Corpus, Life without Parole (LWOP), AEDPA, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- Supreme Court of Maryland Announces Division of Correction Must Immediately Apply Time-Served Credit Against Valid Sentences When Convictions Are Vacated and May Not Toll Execution Pending Reprosecution; New Sentences Arising From New Convictions Take, Jan. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, Overdetention, Effect of Vacatur, Credits, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences.
- Alabama Supreme Court Denies DOC’s Improper Venue Objection, Jan. 1, 2026. Defenses, Good Time, Habeas Corpus, Failure to Object, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- Ninth Circuit Grants Equitable Tolling Under AEDPA Where Attorney Abandoned Prisoner by Failing to Communicate for Nine Months and Prison Officials Delayed Processing Filing Documents, Dec. 15, 2025. Attorney Misconduct, Legal Materials, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Limitations, AEDPA.
- DOJ Leaves Louisiana Over-Detention Suit on Life Support, Two Others Granted Class-Action Status, Dec. 1, 2025. Class Certification, Habeas Corpus, Overdetention, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Unlawful Detention.

