Federal Habeas
Yes. A state prisoner can file a claim for federal habeas relief and ask a federal judge to review the merits of his state court conviction. However, this right to review is not automatic. A federal habeas claim is viable only when the petitioner can establish that the state court misapplied clearly-established federal law according to Supreme Court precedent. The petitioner cannot rely upon rulings from lower federal courts in establishing their claim.
André Bélanger, a graduate of Loyola University, is a highly-respected criminal defense attorney serving the people of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and surrounding areas of Ascension Parish and New Orleans, for one of Baton Rouge’s top-25 law firms. In his 18 years of practicing law, Mr. Bélanger has handled thousands of criminal cases at both the pre-trial and trial stage, including approximately 200 trials. This trial experience includes homicide defense and prosecution, large drug conspiracies and fraud cases making Bélanger one of the few attorneys capable of handling even the largest, most complex federal cases. Having spent years devoted to developing a top-tier regional law practice for federal court and state court litigation, Mr. Bélanger is admitted to practicing law in all federal courts in both Louisiana, Mississippi, the United States Supreme Court and the U. S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
