Fernandez v. United States · ¶90

Consider, for example, an actually innocent defendant— let's call him Paul. Paul is serving a life sentence and, for reasons beyond his control, failed to discover indisputably exonerating evidence during his trial. But Paul cannot point to any way in which his conviction or sentence violates the Constitution or some other provision of the U. S. Code. He does not allege, for instance, that his counsel was ineffective or that the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence. Habeas thus provides no avenue for relief. See 28 U. S. C. § 2255(a) (authorizing relief for a defendant whose “sentence was imposed in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States”).

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