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Habeas Collaborations Continue

The Habeas Project continues to train and support volunteer attorneys from law firms around the state, as well as solo practitioners representing survivors of domestic violence with challenging their convictions under California Penal Code section 1473.5. We recently held two appreciation events – one in San Francisco and one at the law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Los Angeles – to thank the attorneys for their amazing efforts on behalf of incarcerated domestic violence survivors.

Survivors who have been released from prison through the work of the Habeas Project attended both events. They spoke to lawyers about the hope they felt knowing that people outside the prison walls were hearing their stories and working on their behalf, and how that hope sustained them as they continued their struggles for freedom. The attorneys who attended the events were very moved by the stories they heard and were inspired to continue their tireless efforts.

The Habeas Project has also sponsored a bill in the California legislature to extend the deadline for habeas petitions to be filed under PC § 1473.5 from 2010 to 2020. The bill, AB 2306 authored by Assemblymember Betty Karnette, was passed by the Assembly and Senate with overwhelming support. On July 18, 2008, it was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger, giving legal teams more time to investigate their clients’ cases and draft their habeas petitions.

This extension is especially important as the Habeas Project is still looking for 16 legal teams to represent domestic violence survivors throughout the state.

If you are an attorney, or know of an attorney who would like to assist the efforts of the Habeas Project, please contact Marisa González or Andrea Bible at (415) 255-7036.

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