On a roll!

On Thursday, I won again! Particularly because being "the habeas person" essentially makes me the Patron Saint of Lost Causes of the indigent defense world, this recent run of appellate success has really recharged my batteries.

Someday, I'd like to actually win substantive habeas corpus relief for someone - that is, a new trial, or release from confinement.* But I am very pleased to at least be securing some procedural victories for my clients. Habeas cases are far more likely to rise or fall on procedural matters, anyway, so If I can help make good law on that side of things, I'm ensuring that more prisoners' claims will receive merits consideration from the courts.

In this business, we take what we can get!

*I have, in fact, won a few cases on the merits, but not recently.