cause and prejudice rule
cause-and-prejudice rule. Criminal law. The doctrine that a prisoner petitioning for a federal writ of habeas corpus on the basis of a constitutional challenge must first show that the claim rests on either a new rule of con-stitutional law (one that was unavailable while the case was heard in the state courts) or a fact that could not have been uncovered earlier despite due diligence, and then show by clear and convincing evidence that if the consti-tutional error had not occurred, the prisoner would not have been convicted. 28 USCA § 2254(e)(2). • This is an exception to the procedural-default doctrine. Before 1996, the cause-and-prejudice rule allowed federal courts to grant relief on the basis of a constitutional challenge that was not presented to the trial if the prisoner showed good cause for failing to make the challenge at trial, and also showed that the trial court’s error actually prejudiced the prisoner. [Cases: Criminal Law 1438; Habeas Corpus 404–409.]
