Maryland Law Review
Volume 68, Issue 3
Last Best Chance For The Great Writ: Equitable Tolling And Federal Habeas Corpus
By Anne R. Traum [Full Text]
This Article examines the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996’s(“AEDPA”) equitable tolling issue in light of the Court’s meandering equitable tolling jurisprudence and its historical role in habeas corpus. Although lower courts have held that equitable tolling is available under the AEDPA, they have failed to articulate convincingly why equitable tolling is justified in the context of federal habeas corpus. This Article fills the void by examining the Court’s seminal equitable tolling cases, from Irwin v. Department of Veterans Affairs, to its most recent decision in John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. United States. Three contextual factors influence the Court’s role in applying the statute at issue. Applying these factors to the AEDPA, equitable tolling is justified for institutional, constitutional, and statutory reasons, including the Court’s unique role in ensuring access to the Great Writ and remedying constitutional violations.
Citation: Anne R. Traum, Last Best Chance for the Great Writ: Equitable Tolling and Federal Habeas Corpus, 68 Md. L. Rev. 545 (2009).
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