	Introduction

Habeas corpus is the procedure under which an individual held in custody may petition a federal court for his release on the grounds that his detention is contrary to the Constitution or laws of the United States. This report is a brief overview of those recommendations and legislative proposals. Actually Innocent

Federal law imposes several bars to habeas relief in the interests of finality, federalism, and judicial efficiency. 3986 ) and the Justice for the Wrongfully Accused Act ( H.R. 3320 ). Representative Moore (Kansas) introduced H.R. Representative Johnson (Georgia) introduced H.R. H.R. The Johnson bill would also have carried state death row inmates, who claimed innocence, over another statutory habeas bar. H.R. Existing law requires federal courts to dismiss second or successive petitions unless they are based on retroactively applicable new law or are based on newly discovered facts that establish constitutional defect plus innocence. Boumediene and Guantanamo Detainees

The Supreme Court's decision in Boumediene stimulated several proposals in the 111 th Congress relating to the judicial review for the Guantanamo detainees. The proposals included the: 
Military Commissions Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2009 ( H.R. The Smith and Graham bills would have established new habeas provisions applicable to detained enemy combatants, H.R. The 111 th Congress adjourned without further action on any of these proposals. Other Issues

Witnesses who submitted statements for the House Judiciary Committee's recent habeas hearings criticized other aspects of federal habeas law – issues which do not appear to have been the subject of legislative proposals in this Congress.
Federal habeas corpus is the process under which those in official detention may petition a federal court for their release based on an assertion that they are being held in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States. Major habeas legislative activity in the 111th Congress fell within three areas: proposals to permit state death row inmates to seek habeas relief based on evidence that they are probably innocent (H.R. 3320 and H.R. 3986); proposals to amend federal law in response to the Supreme Court's determination that the level of judicial review afforded Guantanamo detainees failed to meet constitutional expectations (H.R. 64, H.R. 591, H.R. 630, H.R. 1315, H.R. 3728, and S. 3707); and recommendations for revision of several areas of federal habeas law from witnesses appearing before recent House Judiciary Committee hearings. The 111th Congress adjourned without further action on any of these proposals or recommendations.
Related CRS Reports include CRS Report R41010, Actual Innocence and Habeas Corpus: In re Troy Davis; CRS Report RL33391, Federal Habeas Corpus: A Brief Legal Overview (also available in abbreviated form as CRS Report RS22432, Federal Habeas Corpus: An Abridged Sketch); CRS Report RL33180, Enemy Combatant Detainees: Habeas Corpus Challenges in Federal Court; and CRS Report R40754, Guantanamo Detention Center: Legislative Activity in the 111th Congress.