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An interesting review of a little habeas history

By Douglas A. Berman

I just came across this intriguing little paper via Bepress, titled "The Story of Tarble's Case: State Habeas and Federal Detention." Here is the abstract: This essay addresses the background to and significance of Tarble?s Case (1872), in which the Supreme Court concluded that state courts lack the power to issue habeas corpus to challenge the lawfulness of detention by federal officials. It is fun (though perhaps frustrating) to imagine what federal crime and punishment like look like if state courts could consider habeas challenges by federal defendants.  I suspect that more than a few state judges might have been more open to various constitutional attacks on federal sentencing rules (like acquitted conduct enhancements) than most lower federal courts have been.continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on June 27, 2009 (boomark / email).