Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996

Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996

Long title	An Act to deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, provide for an effective death penalty, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)	AEDPA
Enacted by	the 104th United States Congress
Effective	April 24, 1996
Citations
Public law	Pub.L. 104–132 (text) (PDF)
Statutes at Large	110 Stat. 1214
Codification
Acts amended	Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 735 "Comprehensive Terrorism Prevention Act of 1995" by Bob Dole (R-KS) on April 27, 1995 Passed the Senate on June 7, 1995 (91–8) Passed the House of Representatives on March 14, 1996 (without objection) Reported by the joint conference committee on April 15, 1996; agreed to by the Senate on April 17, 1996 (91–8) and by the House of Representatives on April 18, 1996 (293–133) Signed into law by President Bill Clinton on April 24, 1996
Major amendments
Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act
United States Supreme Court cases
List Felker v. Turpin, 518 U.S. 651 (1996) Lindh v. Murphy, 521 U.S. 320 (1997) Breard v. Greene, 523 U.S. 371 (1998) Calderon v. Thompson, 523 U.S. 538 (1998) Stewart v. Martinez-Villareal, 523 U.S. 637 (1998) Calderon v. Ashmus, 523 U.S. 740 (1998) Hohn v. United States, 524 U.S. 236 (1998) Immigration and Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr, 533 U.S. 289 (2001) Rice v. Collins, 546 U.S. 333 (2006) Fry v. Pliler, 551 U.S. 112 (2007) Jimenez v. Quarterman, 555 U.S. 113 (2009) Davis v. Ayala, No. 13-1428, 576 U.S. ___ (2015) Banister v. Davis, No. 18-6943, 590 U.S. ___ (2020) United States v. Palomar-Santiago, No. 20-437, 593 U.S. ___ (2021) Brown v. Davenport, No. 20-826, 596 U.S. ___ (2022) Shinn v. Ramirez, No. 20-1009, 596 U.S. ___ (2022) Shoop v. Twyford, No. 21-511, 596 U.S. ___ (2022) Jones v. Hendrix, No. 21-857, 599 U.S. ___ (2023)

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), Pub.L. 104–132 (text) (PDF), 110 Stat. 1214, enacted April 24, 1996, was introduced to the United States Congress in April 1995 as a Senate Bill (S. 735). The bill was presented by Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and passed with broad bipartisan support by Congress (91–8 in the US Senate, 293–133 in the U.S. House of Representatives) in response to the bombings of the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City. It was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

Although controversial for its changes to the law of habeas corpus in the United States (Title I), upheld in Felker v. Turpin, 518 U.S. 651 (1997), it also contained a number of provisions to "deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, provide for an effective death penalty, and for other purposes," in the words of the bill summary.

Provisions

1. providing restitution/assistance for victims of terrorism (Title II),
2. designation of foreign terrorist organizations and prohibitions on funding (Title III),
3. removal or exclusion of alien terrorists and modifications of asylum procedures (Title IV),
4. restrictions on nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons (Title V),
5. implementation of the plastic explosives convention (Title VI),
6. changes to criminal law involving terrorist (or explosives) offenses, including increased penalties and criminal procedures changes (Title VII),
7. commissioning a study to determine the constitutionality of restrictions on bomb-making materials (Title VII - A - Sec. 709),
8. funding changes and jurisdiction clarifications for law enforcement related to terrorism threats (Title VIII),
9. and miscellaneous provisions in Title IX.

Habeas corpus

Further information: Habeas corpus in the United States

AEDPA had a significant impact on the law of habeas corpus. One provision of AEDPA limits the power of federal courts to grant habeas corpus relief to state prisoners, unless the state court's adjudication of the claim resulted in a decision that was

1. contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law as determined by the US Supreme Court; or
2. based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court proceeding.

In addition to the modifications that pertain to all habeas corpus cases, AEDPA enacted special review provisions for capital cases from states that enacted quality controls for the performance of counsel in the state courts in the post-conviction phase. States that enacted the quality controls would see strict time limitations enforced against their death-row inmates in federal habeas proceedings coupled with extremely deferential review to the determinations of their courts regarding issues of federal law. As of 2019, no states had successfully opted in to this provision, though Arizona and Texas had petitions pending to do so.

Other provisions of AEDPA created entirely new statutory law. For example, the judicially-created abuse-of-the-writ doctrine had restricted the presentation of new claims through subsequent habeas petitions. AEDPA replaced this doctrine with an absolute bar on second or successive petitions.

Petitioners in federal habeas proceedings that have already been decided in a previous habeas petition would find the claims barred. Additionally, petitioners who had already filed a federal habeas petition were required to first secure authorization from the appropriate federal court of appeals. Furthermore, AEDPA took away from the Supreme Court the power to review a court of appeals's denial of that permission, thus placing final authority for the filing of second petitions in the hands of the federal courts of appeals.

Court cases

Soon after it was enacted, AEDPA endured a critical test in the Supreme Court. The basis of the challenge was that the provisions limiting the ability of persons to file successive habeas petitions violated Article I, Section 9, Clause 2, of the United States Constitution, the Suspension Clause. The Supreme Court held unanimously, in Felker v. Turpin, 518 U.S. 651 (1997), that the limitations did not unconstitutionally suspend the writ.

In 2005, the Ninth Circuit indicated that it was willing to consider a challenge to the constitutionality of AEDPA on separation of powers grounds under City of Boerne v. Flores and Marbury v. Madison, but it has since decided that the issue had been settled by circuit precedent.

Basketball player and later coach Steve Kerr and his siblings and mother sued the Iranian government under the Act for the 1984 killing of Kerr's father, Malcolm H. Kerr, in Beirut, Lebanon.

On June 21, 2022, the Supreme Court reinforced in Shoop v. Twyford that the power of federal courts to grant habeas corpus is restricted by AEDPA.

Reception

While the act has several titles and provisions, the majority of criticism stems from the act's tightening of habeas corpus laws. Those in favor of the bill say that the act prevents those convicted of crimes from being able to "thwart justice and avoid just punishment by filing frivolous appeals for years on end," while critics argue that the inability to make multiple appeals increases the risk of an innocent person being killed.

Other, more recent criticism centers on the deference that the law requires of federal judges in considering habeas petitions. In Sessoms v. Grounds (Ninth Circuit), the majority of the judges believed that the state erred in not throwing out testimony made in the absence of the defendant's attorney after he had requested counsel, but they were forced to overturn his appeal. The dissenting opinion said that federal courts can only grant habeas relief if "there is no possibility fair-minded jurists could disagree that the state court's decision conflicts with [the Supreme] Court's precedents".

In popular culture

On March 6, 2022, in the main segment of his show Last Week Tonight called Wrongful Convictions, John Oliver advocated for the abolition of AEDPA based on how difficult it makes for convicts to appeal, by citing the cases of several wrongfully convicted individuals, most notably, Melissa Lucio (who is on death row in Texas for the murder of one of her children, which she claims was a household accident. She has been granted a stay of execution as the courts examine new evidence.).

See also

• Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
• Immigration Act of 1990
• Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988

External links

• Text of the Act, also in PDF
• Timeline of Passage Archived September 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
• Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996: A Summary (broken link), Charles Doyle, American Law Division, Federation of American Scientists, June 3, 1996.