While habeas filings in Federal court grew slowly between 1941 and 1962, the number rose sharply to 1970, then leveled off to 1981, when they began to rise again, even though the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the writ in the 1980's. Other calculations show that the increase in habeas corpus petitions during this period is not due to the growth in the general civil litigation or prisoner population, but to the growth in the total number of State prisoners. The proportion of habeas petitions filed by State prisoners has actually declined since 1968. The volume of habeas petitions from State prisoners is generated largely by convictions in nine States (California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Missouri, Louisiana, and Michigan). These figures do not include petitions filed by prisoners on death row. 2 tables, 6 figures, and 36 notes