634
Opinion of the Court
ness.' " Engle v. Isaac, 456 U. S. 107, 126 (1982) (quoting Wainwright v. Sykes, supra, at 97 (Stevens, J., concurring)). "Those few who are ultimately successful [in obtaining habeas relief] are persons whom society has grievously wronged and for whom belated liberation is little enough compensation." Fay v. Noia, 372 U. S. 391, 440-441 (1963). See also Kuhlmann v. Wilson, 477 U. S. 436, 447 (1986) (plurality opinion) ("The Court uniformly has been guided by the proposition that the writ should be available to afford relief to those 'persons whom society has grievously wronged' in light of modern concepts of justice") (quoting Fay v. Noia, supra, at 440-441); Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307, 332, n. 5 (1979) (Stevens, J., concurring in judgment) (Habeas corpus "is designed to guard against extreme malfunctions in the state criminal justice systems"). Accordingly, it hardly bears repeating that " 'an error that may justify reversal on direct appeal will not necessarily support a collateral attack on a final judgment.' " United States v. Frady, 456 U. S. 152, 165 (1982) (quoting United States v. Addonizio, 442 U. S. 178, 184 (1979)).8
Recognizing the distinction between direct and collateral review, we have applied different standards on habeas than would be applied on direct review with respect to matters other than harmless-error analysis. Our recent retroactivity jurisprudence is a prime example. Although new rules always have retroactive application to criminal cases on direct review, Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U. S. 314, 320-328 (1987), we have held that they seldom have retroactive application to criminal cases on federal habeas, Teague v. Lane, supra, at 305-310 (opinion of O'Connor, J.). Other examples abound throughout our habeas cases. See, e. g., Pennsylvania v.
8 For instance, we have held that an error of law does not provide a basis for habeas relief under 28 U. S. C. § 2255 unless it constitutes " 'a fundamental defect which inherently results in a complete miscarriage of justice.' " United States v. Timmreck, 441 U. S. 780, 783 (1979) (quoting Hill v. United States, 368 U. S. 424, 428 (1962)).
Page: Index Previous 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007