466
Opinion of the Court
On rehearing en banc, the Court of Appeals vacated the panel's decision and reinstated its prior mandate affirming the District Court. 950 F. 2d 1009 (1992). The court reviewed our holdings on the constitutional requirement that a sentencer be permitted to consider and act upon any relevant mitigating evidence put forward by a capital defendant, and then rejected Graham's claim on the merits. The court noted that this Court had upheld the Texas capital sentencing statute against a facial attack in Jurek v. Texas, 428 U. S. 262 (1976), after acknowledging that " 'the constitutionality of the Texas procedures turns on whether the enumerated questions allow consideration of particularized mitigating factors.' " 950 F. 2d, at 1019 (quoting Jurek, supra, at 272). Noting that the petitioner in Jurek had himself proffered mitigating evidence of his young age, employment history, and aid to his family, the Court of Appeals concluded that "[a]t the very least, Jurek must stand for the proposition that these mitigating factors—relative youth and evidence reflecting good character traits such as steady employment and helping others—are adequately covered by the second special issue" concerning the defendant's risk of future dangerousness. 950 F. 2d, at 1029. "Penry cannot hold otherwise," the court observed, "and at the same time not be a 'new rule' for Teague purposes." Ibid. Accordingly, the court ruled that the jury that sentenced Graham could give adequate mitigating effect to his evidence of youth, unstable childhood, and positive character traits by way of answering the Texas special issues.
We granted certiorari, 504 U. S. 972 (1992), and now affirm.
II
A
Because this case is before us on Graham's petition for a writ of federal habeas corpus, "we must determine, as a threshold matter, whether granting him the relief he seeks would create a 'new rule' " of constitutional law. Penry v.
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