Monday, June 01, 2015

Grits' end-of-session reading list

Now that session is ending, Grits has quite a bit of backlogged reading in front of him. For my own convenience I'm gathering links here, and maybe some of y'all will be interested in the same titles.
And there are a few habeas corpus related items stacked up in the to-read list:
  • I'm interested in a couple of law review articles focused on federal habeas corpus, starting with "Habeas Corpus and the Innocent," and a related item titled, "Beyond a Reasonable Disagreement: Judging Habeas Corpus." The latter article analyzes the high bar to relief in federal habeas claims, which makes me interested to see somebody rigorously analyze, compare and contrast the federal case law and Texas habeas standards, which are more flexible statutorily and (slightly) more generous regarding actual innocence. Most innocence cases I've known much about here in Texas found relief through state habeas writs, which is why I also want to read this item on the decline of state-level habeas over the last 40 years in Georgia.
  • Grits has wanted to learn more about writs of amparo, a Mexican-originated post-conviction writ comparable to but different from habeas corpus. Though this item is a few years old, the author discusses its use in the Phillipines "as a remedy to address cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances."
  • Abraham Lincoln represented a slave owner in a habeas case before he was president. Despite the hagiographic abstract (one hopes, but somehow doubts, it's justified - as a southerner, I know about folks who want to liberate their favorite historical figures from their historical moment) I want to know more, or at least comb the footnotes.
Finally, I was sent an unsolicited review copy of "Caught: The Prison State and the Lockdown of American Politics." Don't know the author, but I may give it a try.

Let me know what else you think merits inclusion on my summer reading list, or what criminal justice material you've been reading lately.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

No that the session is over you may want to check out the Waco Trib for a little local impact.
Looks like at lest one got kicked of the island today.