Cite as: 533 U. S. 167 (2001)
Breyer, J., dissenting
or successive petition," lest "the complete exhaustion rule" become a " 'trap' " for " 'the unwary pro se prisoner.' " 529 U. S., at 487 (quoting Rose, supra, at 520). Making the same assumption here, I would interpret the ambiguous provision before us to permit tolling for federal habeas petitions.
In both Martinez-Villareal and Slack, the Court discerned the purpose of an ambiguous statutory provision by assuming that (absent a contrary indication) congressional purpose would mirror that of most reasonable human beings knowledgeable about the area of the law in question. And the Court kept those purposes firmly and foremost in mind as it sought to understand the statute. See Slack, supra, at 486-487; Martinez-Villareal, supra, at 644 (re-fusing to adopt an interpretation whose "implications for habeas practice would be far reaching and seemingly perverse"). Today it takes a different approach—an approach that looks primarily, though not exclusively, to linguistic canons to dispel the uncertainties caused by ambiguity. Where statutory language is ambiguous, I believe these priorities are misplaced. Language, dictionaries, and canons, unilluminated by purpose, can lead courts into blind alleys, producing rigid interpretations that can harm those whom the statute affects. If generalized, the approach, bit by bit, will divorce law from the needs, lives, and values of those whom it is meant to serve—a most unfortunate result for a people who live their lives by law's light. The Court was right in Martinez-Villareal and Slack to see purpose as key to the statute's meaning and to understand Congress as intending the same; it is wrong to reverse its interpretive priorities here.
With respect, I dissent.
193
Page: Index Previous 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27Last modified: October 4, 2007