×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Habeas Hints: Certificate of Appealability
by Kent Russell
This column is intended to provide “habeas hints” to prisoners who are considering or handling habeas corpus peti-tions as their own attorneys (“in pro per”). The focus of the column is habeas corpus practice under AEDPA, the 1996 ha-beas corpus law which now governs habeas corpus practice …
This column is intended to provide “habeas hints” to prisoners who are considering or handling habeas corpus peti-tions as their own attorneys (“in pro per”). The focus of the column is habeas corpus practice under AEDPA, the 1996 ha-beas corpus law which now governs habeas corpus practice …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Secret Justice: Criminal Informants and America’s Underground Legal System, by Alexandra Natapoff
- New Details Regarding Race Riot at USP Florence, by Brandon Sample
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Dozens of CIA “Ghost” Detainees Unaccounted For, by Matthew Clarke
- ACLU Report Applauds Michigan’s Efforts to Reduce Prison Population, by David Reutter
- Report on Prison Privatization Plagued with Political Connections, Conflicts of Interest, Faulty Data
- Habeas Hints: Certificate of Appealability, by Kent A. Russell
- $315,000 Settlement in Illegal Arizona Police Strip Search
- Salt Lake County Agrees to Pay $75,000 to Settle Jail Suicide Suit
- 50,000 Illinois Felons Released Without DNA Collection
- California Jail Detainee Attacked by Cellmate, Family Accepts $1.85 Million, by Michael Brodheim
- Book Review: Anne-Marie Cusac, Cruel and Unusual: The Culture of Punishment in America, 336 pp, Yale University Press, $27.50, by Amy Vanderwarker
- Georgia’s Privatized Probation System Traps the Poor, by David Reutter
- Judge Finds Unconstitutional Conditions at Massachusetts Jail, 11 Years After Suit is Filed, by Brandon Sample
- Ninth Circuit: California Lifers Have No Inherent U.S. Constitutional Right to Parole, by John Dannenberg
- Report Details Societal Effects of High School Dropout Rates – Including Incarceration, by David Reutter
- $1,500 Settlement for Wisconsin Prisoner’s Cold Cell Conditions Claim
- California: Budget Cuts Target Rehabilitation Programs, by Michael Brodheim
- Pennsylvania Judges Involved in Corruption Case Face Liability; 5,000 Convictions Thrown Out, by David Reutter
- $2,750 Settlement in California Prisoner’s Denial of Exercise Claim
- Montana State and County Officials May be Liable for Injuries Caused by Private Prisoner Transport Company
- NACDL Releases Report on U.S. Drug and Mental Health Courts, by Matthew Clarke
- PLN Prevails in Public Records Suit Against GEO Group, by Alex Friedmann
- Fifth Circuit: RLUIPA Does Not Create Individual Capacity Cause of Action
- Virginia Sheriff Sentenced to 19 Months on Corruption Charges
- Prison Psychologist Shoots Ex-Prisoner Boyfriend, Loses Her License
- Georgia Jail Settles PLN Censorship Suit, Pays $149,759.21 in Damages, Attorney Fees
- Oregon Prison Officials Treat Heart Failure with Antacid, Tylenol, Heat Pack, by Mark Wilson
- BOP Agrees to Pay $30,000 to Prisoner Assaulted by Guards
- New Jersey: Class-Action Status Granted in Suit Challenging Conditions of Confinement at Passaic County Jail, by Michael Brodheim
- Oregon Youth Authority Warden Gives Agency a Black Eye
- U.S. Attorney Nominees Involved in Hiding Court Records, by David Reutter
- $60,000 Settlement in New York Jail Captain’s Assault on Prisoner
- California: Furloughing Prison Employees Costing Taxpayers More, by Michael Brodheim
- Sixth Circuit: Shy Bladder Suit Returned to District Court
- Florida Prisoner Exonerated by DNA After Serving 35 Years, by David Reutter
- Being in Unauthorized Jail Area Without Escape Intent Not a Crime in Indiana
- Fourth Circuit Holds Individual Capacity Damage Claims Unavailable Under RLUIPA
- Ninth Circuit Holds Prosecutors Immune for Parole Recommendations, by Mark Wilson
- New York Prisoner Gets Mixed Verdict in Retaliatory Beating Ruling
- Ninth Circuit: Race-Based Prison Lockdowns Must Satisfy Strict-Scrutiny Standard
- Federal Circuit Rejects Prisoner’s Claim of Copyright Infringement
- DC Circuit Reverses CCA/TransCor Non-Exhaustion Dismissal
- Summary Judgment Reversed in Illinois Jail Suicide Suit
- California: Indefinite Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators May Violate Equal Protection
- Reversal of Summary Judgment on 55-Day New York SHU Placement Claim
- Mental Health Specialist May be Liable in California Jail Detainee’s Suicide
- New York’s Catch-All Contraband and Anti-Smuggling Rules Unconstitutionally Vague
- No Liberty Interest Under Utah Parole Scheme
- No Qualified Immunity for Excessive Force at Ohio Jail
- Sixth Circuit: RLUIPA Does Not Permit Monetary Damages
- Ineffective Attempts to Protect Texas Prisoner Were Sufficient
- No Qualified Immunity for Denial of Protective Custody to Ohio Prisoner
- Illinois: Disabled Detainees’ Discrimination Claims May Proceed to Trial
- New York City Jail: $275,000 Settlement in Prisoner-on-Prisoner Assault
- California: Prison Appeals Coordinator Who Rejected Dental Complaints Held Liable for $1,500 in Damages
- News in Brief:
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 Announces Sentencing Reform Act Does Not Authorize Automatic Extension of Supervised Release When Defendant Absconds, Resolving Circuit Split, April 1, 2026. Sentencing, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Ex-Wife of Minnesota DOC Commissioner Sentenced for Poisoning Attempt on Son, Dec. 1, 2025. Out of State Transfers, Sentencing, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Confessions and Statements of Defendant, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.

