Update: COVID-19 and State Habeas Corpus

In an earlier bulletin, I discussed the possibility that state habeas petitions could emerge as a remedy for medically vulnerable prisoners in North Carolina, as they have in other states (most notably New York). While it remains too early to tell how North Carolina courts will respond, there have been some important developments in recent weeks, as a number of prisoners have asked courts to consider their petitions. This post explores the status of two of those cases and related legal issues regarding the viability of state habeas as a remedy for prisoners uniquely endangered by COVID-19. Pending Cases. In State v. Daw, 39-year-old Philip Daw petitioned a Wake County judge for a writ of habeas corpus, citing serious respiratory issues that recently required his hospitalization and the risk posed to his life from COVID-19. According to state records, Daw has a projected release date in late 2021 for a fraud conviction. His petition, the first known COVID-19 habeas action to be filed in the state’s superior courts, was denied by the judge, who relied on the portion of G.S. 17-4 stating that a petition for writ of habeas corpus “shall be denied where a person is held pursuant to a valid final judgment in a criminal case entered by a court with proper jurisdiction.” Daw filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the Court of Appeals to review the trial court’s decision. He relied on State v. Leach, 227 N.C. App. 399 (2013) and Hoffman v. Edwards, 48 N.C. [...]