646
White, J., dissenting
conviction involving a constitutional violation that is not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. A defendant whose conviction has been upheld despite the occurrence of such a violation certainly is "in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws . . . of the United States," 28 U. S. C. § 2254(a), and therefore is entitled to habeas relief. Although we have never explicitly held that this was the case, our practice before this day plainly supports this view, as the majority itself acknowledges. See, e. g., Rose v. Clark, 478 U. S. 570, 584 (1986); see also ante, at 630.
B
The Court justifies its decision by asserting that "collateral review is different from direct review," ante, at 633, and that "we have applied different standards on habeas than would be applied on direct review with respect to matters other than harmless-error analysis," ante, at 634. All told, however, it can only uncover a single example of a constitutional violation that would entitle a state prisoner to relief on direct, but not on collateral, review. Thus, federal habeas review is not available to a defendant claiming that the conviction rests on evidence seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment, even though such claims remain cognizable in state courts. Stone v. Powell, 428 U. S. 465 (1976). I have elsewhere stated my reasons for disagreeing with that holding, id., at 536-537 (White, J., dissenting), but today's decision cannot be supported even under Stone's own terms.
Stone was premised on the view that the exclusionary rule is not a "personal constitutional right," id., at 486, and that it "does not exist to remedy any wrong committed against the defendant, but rather to deter violations of the Fourth Amendment by law enforcement personnel," Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U. S. 365, 392 (1986) (Powell, J., concurring in judgment). In other words, one whose conviction rests on evidence obtained in a search or seizure that violated the Fourth Amendment is deemed not to be unconstitutionally
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