Civil Cases are the cases in court that are not about breaking a criminal law. Habeas corpus petitions are not the same thing as direct appeals.To get a writ of habeas corpus, you must file a petition for a civil (not criminal) proceeding in either state or federal court. In most cases, you are not entitled to a lawyer and have to convince the court to give you one. In this blog, we at The Blacknall Firm will break down the complexities of using habeas corpus in child custody disputes. A writ of habeas is not going to accomplish the desired result. A case in which the Court held that a federal court deciding whether to grant habeas relief must apply both the test the Supreme Court outlined in Brecht v. Federal habeas corpus is a procedure under which a federal court may review the legality of an individual's incarceration. He further stated that retribution had already been accomplished in Lackey's case because of "the severe punishment already inflicted. A CPL 440 motion identifies issues that are not contained in the trial record, including the following: Acts or omissions of the defense lawyer (e.g.