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Federal Appeals Under Attack!
The Streamlined Procedures Act
What is the “Streamlined Procedures Act?”
Congress is considering legislation known as the Streamlined Procedures Act (SPA) that would essentially abolish federal habeas corpus. Habeas corpus, in layperson’s terms, is based on the concept that an individual should be protected from unconstitutional imprisonment or execution. Habeas appeals are used in both death penalty cases and non-death penalty cases to challenge convictions that have been based, in whole or in part, on constitutional violations.
If the Streamlined Procedures Act is approved by Congress and enacted into law, tens of thousands of Americans in non-death penalty cases will no longer be able to challenge their convictions in federal court. And hundreds of people on death rows will face imminent execution because their last avenue of appeals will have been shut off.
To learn more about the SPA, click on the links below.
