Why may not it be said, with the strictest propriety, when a
writ of error is brought from an inferior to a superior court of law in this State, that the latter has jurisdiction of the fact as well as the law?
The case recently decided by the 1st Circuit is Woodward's third collateral attack on his convictions and the second one using a
writ of error coram nobis.
Sentencing Error Coram Nobis Where a defendant challenged his sentence by filing a petition for a
writ of error coram nobis since he was no longer in custody, the court finds that such a petition is subject to the restrictions on second or successive habeas corpus petitions, and dismissal of the petition is affirmed because the District Court properly found that there was no fundamental error, and the defendant failed to meet his burden to show that he was entitled to the extraordinary relief.
McDonald, 179 S.W.2d 239, 242 (1944), reasoning that mandamus will lie to require the Court of Civil Appeals to certify a decisional conflict when "an incorrect decision has been made and the case cannot reach this [c]ourt by
writ of error." (20) The court went on to describe the Court of Civil Appeals' certification procedure as a "clear, statutory duty." (21)
193, 202- 03 (1830) (describing the statutory writ of habeas corpus as "in the nature of a
writ of error, to examine the legality of the commitment" and "to liberate an individual from unlawful imprisonment").
In 1796, Chief Justice Ellsworth explained that Article III qualified the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction by "such exceptions, and under such regulations, as the Congress shall make." (20) As a result, "[i]f Congress has provided no rule to regulate our proceedings, we cannot exercise an appellate jurisdiction; and if the rule is provided, we cannot depart from it." (21) Because the Judiciary Act of 1789 required that a statement of facts accompany the transcript in chancery cases, (22) the Court held that it must dismiss a
writ of error unless a statement of facts appeared on the record.
(11) Chief Justice Marshall's issuance of a
writ of error pursuant to section 25 provoked a massive jurisdictional battle--one of the most significant controversies to face the Court under Chief Justice Marshall.
The
writ of error coram nobis is a tool used when new facts or developments have arisen and the petitioner seeks in essence a "belated extension" of an earlier trial.
(15) This system proved inefficient, and the powers to review inferior courts evolved into a new system of writs, including the
writ of error. (16)
Le
writ of error, qui est l'ancetre du bref de certiorari accorde notamment en cas d'error of law on the face of the record, tiendra longtemps lieu d'appel, mais sous une forme archa'ique et extremement formaliste qui sera universellement decriee par la suite (29).
It seems to be the case that an attainder could always be falsified by
writ of error. (51) The executors of the estate of an outlawed deceased could use a
writ of error to demonstrate a defect in the outlawry.