Statistics show that Federal courts grant a very small proportion of habeas corpus petitions, and that the claims raised do not affect the petitioner's success rate. In State courts, petitioners filing claims related to prosecutorial misconduct, and Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment violations had lower success rates than those raising issues related to excessive bail, coerced guilty pleas, trial court error, ineffective assistance of counsel, and Fourteenth Amendment claims. Most frequently cited court reasons for denying habeas petitions included lack of merit, procedural default, or failure to exhaust other available options. Successive petitions and abuse of the writ were related reasons for denying habeas petitions. 3 tables and 60 notes