The third edition of Federal Habeas Corpus: Cases and Materials includes ongoing legal developments under the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and addresses systemic failures at the intersection of death penalty, race, and habeas corpus. The casebook also covers the basics of habeas corpus jurisprudence and explores its history, from the origins of "the great writ" up through current AEDPA-driven jurisprudence.

Twelve chapters long, the casebook includes the leading cases and other materials on (1) The Great Writ and an Introduction to AEDPA, (2) The Statute of Limitations, (3) When Is a Claim Cognizable? (4) Types of Cognizable Claims, (5) Limiting Access to Federal Review, (6) Innocence, (7) Exhaustion of State Remedies, (8) Procedural Default, (9) Successive Petitions, (10) Litigating Questions of Fact, (11) Harmless Error, and (12) Systemic Failures.