United States ex rel. Smith v. Prasse

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

JOSEPH S. LORD, III, District Judge.

Relator, in his habeas corpus petition, asks us to set bail while he appeals his state court conviction. The state courts have refused his request for bail.

Habeas corpus relief is only available where one has been deprived of a constitutional right. Relator claims that the state courts’ denial of his request for bail violated his rights under the Eighth Amendment. This contention raises two separate questions. Does the Eighth Amendment’s proscription against “excessive bail” apply to the states, and, if so, does it proscribe excessive…