Cite as: 506 U. S. 364 (1993)
Stevens, J., dissenting
to a system that ensures fairness and reliability by subjecting the prosecution's case to meaningful adversarial testing.
III
Changes in the law are characteristic of constitutional adjudication. Prior to 1985, most of those changes were in the direction of increasing the protection afforded an individual accused of crime. To vindicate the legitimate reliance interests of state law enforcement authorities, however, and in recognition of the state interest in preserving the outcome of trials adhering to contemporaneous standards, the Court often refused to apply its new rules retroactively.9 In
Teague v. Lane, 489 U. S. 288, 310 (1989), the Court gave full expression to its general policy of allowing States "to keep in prison defendants whose trials and appeals conformed to then-existing constitutional standards," holding that the claims of federal habeas petitioners will, in all but exceptional cases, be judged under the standards prevailing at the time of trial.10
Since 1985, relevant changes in the law often have been in a different direction, affording less rather than more protec-9 See, e. g., Stovall v. Denno, 388 U. S. 293, 300 (1967) ("factors of reliance and burden on the administration of justice" mandate against retroactive application of United States v. Wade, 388 U. S. 218 (1967), and Gilbert v. California, 388 U. S. 263 (1967), establishing right to counsel at pretrial identification); Johnson v. New Jersey, 384 U. S. 719 (1966) (declining to apply Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436 (1966), retroactively); Tehan v. United States ex rel. Shott, 382 U. S. 406 (1966) (Griffin v. California, 380 U. S. 609 (1965), prohibiting adverse comment on a defendant's silence, does not apply retroactively).
10 See also Engle v. Isaac, 456 U. S. 107, 128-129, n. 33 (1982) (discussing "frustration" of state courts when they "faithfully apply existing constitutional law" only to have change in constitutional standards applied retroactively).
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