'New Judgment' and the Federal Habeas Statutes
8 Calif. L. Rev. Online 88 (2017)
University of Georgia School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2018-23
16 Pages Posted: 15 May 2018
Date Written: May 14, 2018
Abstract
Prisoners love to file habeas petitions. Maybe a little too much. That is why Congress drafted the federal habeas statutes to preclude prisoners from filing “second or successive” petitions attacking their judgments. This essay explains the shortcomings of how some courts have assessed that meaning, and it proposes a straightforward test for determining when a new judgment exists.
Keywords: criminal law, habeas petitions, Magwood v. Patterson, Section 2254, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, disaggregating, judgment
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