Jones v. Cunningham
Encyclopedia
Jones v. Cunningham, 371 U.S. 236
(1963) was a Supreme Court case in which the court first ruled that state inmates had the right to file a writ of habeas corpus challenging both the legality and the conditions of their imprisonment. Prior to this, starting with Pervear v. Massachusetts
, , the court had maintained a "hands off" policy regarding federal interference with state incarceration policies and practices, maintaining that the Bill of Rights
did not apply to the states. Subsequently, in Cooper v. Pate
(1964), an inmate successfully obtained standing to challenge the denial of his right to practice his religion through a habeas corpus writ.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1963) was a Supreme Court case in which the court first ruled that state inmates had the right to file a writ of habeas corpus challenging both the legality and the conditions of their imprisonment. Prior to this, starting with Pervear v. Massachusetts
Pervear v. Massachusetts
Pervear v. Massachusetts, 72 U.S. 475 was a case brought before the United States Supreme Court in 1866 over the issue of prisoners' rights. The court ruled that prisoners have no constitutional rights, not even Eighth Amendment rights. This was the first case stating the "hands off" policy that...
, , the court had maintained a "hands off" policy regarding federal interference with state incarceration policies and practices, maintaining that the Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...
did not apply to the states. Subsequently, in Cooper v. Pate
Cooper v. Pate
Cooper v. Pate, 378 U.S. 546 , was a U.S. Supreme Court case in which the court ruled for the first time that state prison inmates have the standing to sue in federal court to address their grievances under the Civil Rights Act of 1871. This case followed Jones v...
(1964), an inmate successfully obtained standing to challenge the denial of his right to practice his religion through a habeas corpus writ.