United States v. Robert Eugene Lee

DUNIWAY, Circuit Judge:

During recent years the federal courts have been deluged with petitions by state prisoners seeking writs of habeas corpus and petitions by federal prisoners seeking comparable relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Most of these petitions are prepared without the assistance of counsel, and as a result it is often difficult to tell just what legal ground for relief, if any, the petitioner has. Moreover, because principles of res judicata do not apply, many prisoners file repeated applications, a practice that seems to be accelerating.

In order to protect themselves against the…