The Stigma of Conviction: Coram Nobis, Civil Disabilities, and the Right to Clear One's Name

I. ABSTRACT

In the 1954 case of United States v. Morgan, the Supreme Court revived the ancient writ of coram nobis by making it the sole mechanism for post-incarceration judicial review of federal convictions. It appeared that coram nobis was well on its way to taking its place as a vital part of the American system of collateral review. Where the writ of habeas corpus provided unlawfully convicted prisoners with a way to challenge their conviction, coram nobis offered a similar avenue of relief for those who were no longer in federal custody. But the promise of modern coram nobis has been held in check by a restrictive doctrine known as the civil disabilities test. In most federal …