| Jones v. Cunningham | ||||||
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Supreme Court of the United States |
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| Argued December 3, 1962 Decided January 14, 1963 |
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| Full case name | Jones v. Cunningham | |||||
| Holding | ||||||
| A state prisoner who has been placed on parole, under the "custody and control" of a parole board, is "in custody" within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 2241; and, on his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, a Federal District Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine his charge that his state sentence was imposed in violation of the Federal Constitution | ||||||
| Court membership | ||||||
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| Case opinions | ||||||
| Majority | Black | |||||
Jones v. Cunningham, 371 U.S. 236 (1963) was a Supreme Court case in which the court first ruled that state inmates had the right to file a writ of habeas corpus challenging both the legality and the conditions of their imprisonment. Prior to this, starting with Pervear v. Massachusetts, 72 U.S. 475 (1866), the court had maintained a "hands off" policy regarding federal interference with state incarceration policies and practices, maintaining that the Bill of Rights did not apply to the states.[1] Subsequently, in Cooper v. Pate (1964), an inmate successfully obtained standing to challenge the denial of his right to practice his religion through a habeas corpus writ.