Habeas Corpus Petitions in Federal Court

A federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus is a postconviction remedy that is usually initiated after a decision has been made on a defendant’s direct appeal. Such petitions can be filed if a defendant has been convicted in a New York state court as well as for defendants convicted in a federal court.

A habeas corpus petition filed by a defendant convicted in federal court is generally used to litigate facts that are off the record. In that sense it serves a function similar to a CPL 440 motion that is filed by a defendant in a New York State court. As with a 440 motion, great care must be taken in drafting affidavits in support of a federal habeas corpus petition filed by a defendant convicted in federal court. Furthermore, witnesses may have to be located to provide information that will be included in such affidavits. There is a very short time period within which a defendant can file a federal habeas petition. Assuming that the defendant has properly filed a direct appeal, then that time period does not start running until the defendant’s direct appeal is concluded.

A federal habeas petition filed by a defendant convicted in a New York state court often times is not much more than a summary of the direct appeal and any 440 motion filed in a New York state court. As such, the drafting of such petitions is not that complicated. However, the same cannot be said of a federal habeas petition filed by a defendant convicted in federal court. Such petitions can be very complicated to prepare and can involve a great deal of time pursuing investigative leads, locating documents and conducting legal research. Since the statute of limitations attendant to such petitions is very short, the preparation of such petitions really should begin the moment that the defendant has been sentenced.

The purpose of a federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus (the writ) is simply to remove a defendant from government imposed confinement when imposition of such confinement violates the defendant’s constitutional rights. Habeas corpus petitions do not exist for the purpose of reversing a defendant’s conviction or clearing a defendant’s criminal record. Indeed, habeas corpus petitions are not even considered to be criminal proceedings. Technically they are civil in nature. The writ was originally devised in old England where people could often be held in prison for extended periods of time without ever appearing before a judge. The idea of the writ was to force the release of a prisoner who was being detained for extended periods of time without ever being provided a right to a trial or a hearing. Its purpose was not to try the case or make a determination of the guilt or innocence of the defendant.

The term “habeas corpus” is a Latin term that literally means “you shall have the body.” The word “you” is a reference to a judge. So, the phrase is a reference to the fact that the judge shall have the body of the prisoner placed before him. The purpose of a habeas corpus petition, therefore, is literally to deliver the defendant’s body from a jail into a courtroom so that a judge can issue an order directing that the defendant be released from confinement. The issuance of a writ of habeas corpus, therefore, necessarily presumes that the defendant is in custody. If a defendant is not in custody, then he has no right to petition for such a writ and if he does submit a petition for a writ of habeas corpus when he is not in custody, it will simply be dismissed even if the underlying merits of the petition are very good and even if such a writ would have been granted if the defendant was in custody. Custody certainly includes being in jail. But it can also include other types of confinement such as being on parole or probation. The custody requirement also exists for defendants convicted in state courts.

A federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus is initially filed in the appropriate federal district court. If the petition is denied in that court, the defendant does not have an automatic right to appeal that decision. Instead, the defendant must first ask permission to appeal to the circuit court of appeals and then, only if permission is granted, can he go ahead and proceed with the appeal.

overview

In this article, New York federal criminal appeals lawyer Tom Theophilos describes the basics of habeas corpus petitions initiated by people convicted in Federal district court.

Federal habeas petitions are complicated motions that should be undertaken with the assistance of a federal criminal appeals lawyer. Tom Theophilos has the experience and knowledge necessary to give you or the person you care about the best chance of success with such litigation.

Call 716-447-7899 or 716-447-7901 for your free consultation.