Number: RL33391
Title: Federal Habeas Corpus: A Brief Legal Overview
Authors: Charles Doyle, American Law Division 
Abstract: This is an overview of the most prominent features of federal habeas corpus law. Federal habeas corpus as we know it is by and large a procedure under which a court may review the legality of an individual's incarceration. It is most often invoked after conviction and the exhaustion of the ordinary means of appeal. It is at once the last refuge of scoundrels and the last hope of the innocent. It is an intricate weave of statute and case law whose reach has flowed and ebbed over time.
Pages: 40
Date: April 26, 2006