Supreme Court Limits Habeas Filings Based on New Evidence (1)

The US Supreme Court made it even harder for inmates to challenge their confinement.

In a unanimous ruling by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Thursday, the court broadly interpreted what counts as a “second or successive” habeas petition.

“Incarcerated individuals who seek to challenge their imprisonment through a federal habeas petition are generally afforded one opportunity to do so,” Jackson wrote for the court.

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act sets a high bar for state prisoners bringing successive petitions in federal court.

The high bar applies mid-appeal, which is when a trial court denies a filing but prior ...