292
Opinion of Thomas, J.
Teague was premised on the view that retroactivity questions in habeas corpus proceedings must take account of the nature and function of the writ, which we described as " 'a collateral remedy . . . not designed as a substitute for direct review.' " 489 U. S., at 306 (opinion of O'Connor, J.) (quoting Mackey v. United States, 401 U. S. 667, 682-683 (1971) (Harlan, J., concurring in judgments in part and dissenting in part)) (emphasis in Mackey). Justice Stevens reasoned similarly in Jackson, where he stressed that habeas corpus "is not intended as a substitute for appeal, nor as a device for reviewing the merits of guilt determinations at criminal trials," but only "to guard against extreme malfunctions in the state criminal justice systems." 443 U. S., at 332, n. 5 (opinion concurring in judgment); see also Greer v. Miller, 483 U. S. 756, 768-769 (1987) (Stevens, J., concurring in judgment). Indeed, the notion that different standards should apply on direct and collateral review runs throughout our recent habeas jurisprudence. We have said, for example, that new rules always have retroactive application to
tion omitted). We do disagree, however, with Justice O'Connor's definition of what constitutes a "new rule" for Teague purposes. A rule is new, she contends, if it "can be meaningfully distinguished from that established by binding precedent at the time [the] state court conviction became final." Post, at 304. This definition leads her to suggest that a habeas court must determine whether the state courts have interpreted old precedents "properly." Post, at 305. Our precedents, however, require a different standard. We have held that a rule is "new" for Teague purposes whenever its validity under existing precedents is subject to debate among "reasonable minds," Butler, 494 U. S., at 415, or among "reasonable jurists," Sawyer v. Smith, 497 U. S. 227, 234 (1990). Indeed, each of our last four relevant precedents has indicated that Teague insulates on habeas review the state courts' " 'reasonable, good-faith interpretations of existing precedents.' " Ibid. (quoting Butler, supra, at 414); Saffle v. Parks, 494 U. S. 484, 488 (1990) (citing Butler); see Stringer v. Black, 503 U. S. 222, 237 (1992) ("The purpose of the new rule doctrine is to validate reasonable interpretations of existing precedents"). Thus, Teague bars habeas relief whenever the state courts have interpreted old precedents reasonably, not only when they have done so "properly." Post, at 305.
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