Jones v. Cunningham

Jones v. Cunningham, 371 U.S. 236, 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, the court had maintained a "hands off" policy regarding federal interference with state incarceration policies and practices, maintaining that the United States [Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights] did not apply to the states. Subsequently, in Cooper v. Pate, an inmate successfully obtained standing to challenge the denial of his right to practice his religion through a habeas corpus writ.