Jones v. Cunningham

Jones v. Cunningham
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued December 3, 1962 Decided January 14, 1963
Full case name	Jones v. Cunningham
Citations	371 U.S. 236 (more) 83 S. Ct. 373; 9 L. Ed. 2d 285; 1963 U.S. LEXIS 2261
Case history
Prior	297 F.2d 851 (4th Cir. 1962); 313 F.2d 347 (4th Cir. 1963)
Holding
A state prisoner who has been placed on parole, under the "custody and control" of a parole board, is "in custody" within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 2241; and, on his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, a Federal District Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine his charge that his state sentence was imposed in violation of the Federal Constitution.
Court membership
Chief Justice Earl Warren Associate Justices Hugo Black · William O. Douglas Tom C. Clark · John M. Harlan II William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Arthur Goldberg
Case opinion
Majority	Black, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
28 USC 2241-2255 (habeas corpus)
This case overturned a previous ruling or rulings
Pervear v. Massachusetts (1867)

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, 72 U.S. 475 (1866), 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.

Further reading

• Gertmenian, Alfred (1963). "Criminal Procedure: The Custody Requirement for Habeas Corpus Relief in the Federal Courts". California Law Review. 51 (1): 228–232. doi:10.2307/3478912. JSTOR 3478912.

External links

• Text of Jones v. Cunningham, 371 U.S. 236 (1963) is available from: CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)