Opinion ID: 1919820
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Louisiana Habeas Corpus Clause

Text: Petitioners and amici also contend Art. 930.8 suspends the writ of habeas corpus, in violation of La. Const. art. I § 21, which provides that [t]he writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended. [5] Petitioners argue that Art. 930.8: abolishes the right of review of persons who fail to apply [for post conviction relief] within the three year limit or in petitioners' cases the one year limit since their convictions occurred prior to the statute's enactment. In so doing, this article exceeds the bounds of legislative power and suspends the writ of habeas corpus. Petitioners' brief at p. 5. Current Louisiana statutory law distinguishes post conviction relief from habeas corpus relief. See La.C.Cr.P. art. 351; Wilkes, supra; Berrigan, La. Criminal Trial Prac. (2d Ed.), § 28.6 (1992); Cheney C. Joseph, Jr., Developments in the Law: Postconviction Relief, 41 La.L.Rev. 632, 632-33 (1981). The impetus for this distinction came nearly twenty years ago, in 1976, when this court appointed an ad hoc committee to study the concerns expressed by Louisiana's trial courts over the repetitive applications, unnecessary hearings, and administrative difficulties surrounding production of prisoners for habeas purposes. After the committee performed its assigned task, the legislature left to this court the task of adopting a new set of rules for applications for relief by convicted persons in custody. See 1976 La. Acts, No. 448. The new supreme court rules governing post conviction applications became effective on January 1, 1977 and were eventually incorporated into the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure. See 1980 La. Acts, No. 429. Title IX of the Code of Criminal Procedure contains La.C.Cr.P. art. 351 et seq. (habeas corpus), while Title XXXI-A contains La. C.Cr.P. art. 924 et seq. (post conviction relief). Article 351, the article defining habeas corpus as a writ commanding a person who has another in his custody to produce him before the court and to state the authority for the custody, states unambiguously that habeas corpus relief is not available to persons entitled to file an application for post conviction relief. Official Revision Comment (c) to Art. 351 distinguishes habeas corpus and post conviction relief, stating [h]abeas corpus relief is not the proper procedural device for petitioners who may file applications for post conviction relief. Essentially, habeas corpus deals with pre-conviction complaints concerning custody. (emphasis added). The writ of habeas corpus has been an integral part of this state's law for at least as long as Louisiana has been a state, but this court has not, until today, had the opportunity to address whether a particular piece of legislation constitutes a suspension of the writ. In our view, Art. 930.8 does not suspend the writ of habeas corpus because suspension, insofar as Art. I, § 21 of this state's constitution is concerned, refers to suspension of the traditional common law writ of habeas corpus. Our basis for this conclusion stems, in part, from the fact that for over one hundred and sixty years Louisiana's constitutions have prohibited suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. [6] Traditionally, the writ of habeas corpus was used to: (1) insure that necessary pre-trial procedures were followed; (2) examine whether the person had been committed pursuant to judicial process; and (3) ascertain whether the committing court had jurisdiction. See, e.g., Swain v. Pressley, 430 U.S. 372, 385, 97 S.Ct. 1224, 1231, 51 L.Ed.2d 411 (1977) (Burger, Blackmun and Rehnquist, JJ. concurring in part and concurring in the judgment) (citing Oaks, Legal History in the High CourtHabeas Corpus, 64 Mich.L.Rev. 451, 468 (1966)). [7] Considering this historical framework, we find no basis for concluding that Art. 930.8, a modern post conviction relief procedure, which lies outside the scope of the writ of habeas corpus as the writ was understood at common law and which merely limits the time period during which an application for post conviction relief may be filed, constitutes a suspension of the writ of habeas corpus as that term was originally understood at common law. Accordingly, we hold that Art. 930.8 does not suspend the writ of habeas corpus in violation of Art. I, § 21 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974.