Cite as: 509 U. S. 86 (1993)
O'Connor, J., dissenting
cept the notion that Davis resolved the question of retroactivity. Instead, Justice Kennedy applies the analysis of Chevron Oil to resolve the retroactivity question today. See ante, at 110-112 (opinion concurring in part and concurring in judgment).
The Court's decision today cannot be justified by comparison to our decision in Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U. S. 314 (1987), which abandoned selective prospectivity in the criminal context. Ante, at 97. As I explained in American Trucking Assns., 496 U. S., at 197-200, there are significant differences between criminal and civil cases that weigh against such an extension. First, nonretroactivity in criminal cases historically has favored the government's reliance interests over the rights of criminal defendants. As a result, the generalized policy of favoring individual rights over governmental prerogative can justify the elimination of prospectivity in the criminal arena. The same rationale cannot apply in civil cases, as nonretroactivity in the civil context does not necessarily favor plaintiffs or defendants; "nor is there any policy reason for protecting one class of litigants over another." Id., at 198. More important, even a party to civil litigation who is "deprived of the full retroactive benefit of a new decision may receive some relief." Id., at 198- 199. Here, for example, petitioners received the benefit of prospective invalidation of Virginia's taxing scheme. From this moment forward, they will be treated on an equal basis with all other retirees, the very treatment our intergovern-mental immunity cases require. The criminal defendant, in contrast, is usually interested only in one remedy—reversal of his conviction. That remedy can be obtained only if the rule is applied retroactively. See id., at 199.
Nor can the Court's rejection of selective retroactivity in the civil context be defended on equal treatment grounds. See Griffith, supra, at 323 (selective retroactivity accords a benefit to the defendant in whose case the decision is announced but not to any defendant thereafter). It may well
121
Page: Index Previous 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007