Cite as: 512 U. S. 339 (1994)
Blackmun, J., dissenting
A
While there are stray remarks in our opinions suggesting that this Court has treated §§ 2254 and 2255 as equivalents,2 there are other indications to the contrary, see, e. g., Withrow v. Williams, 507 U. S. 680, 715 (1993) (Scalia, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part). In any event, there are sound reasons to refrain from treating the two as identical. Primary among them is the importance under § 2254 of providing a federal forum for review of state prisoners' federal claims, not only in order to ensure the enforcement of federal rights, but also to promote uniformity in the state courts' interpretation and application of federal law.3
We recognized in United States v. Frady, 456 U. S., at 166, that the "federal prisoner . . . , unlike his state counterparts, has already had an opportunity to present his federal claims in federal trial and appellate forums." For the federal pris-2 The Court relies, for instance, on the remark in Davis that " '§ 2255 was intended to mirror § 2254 in operative effect.' " Ante, at 353, quoting Davis v. United States, 417 U. S. 333, 344 (1974). That statement, however, did no more than parry the suggestion that federal prisoners, unlike state prisoners, were restricted to bringing claims "of constitutional dimension," and not those grounded in statutes. Ibid. The Davis Court was addressing only the threshold statutory basis for relief—specifically whether relief was available to federal prisoners for violations of "laws" of the United States. It said nothing about the equitable considerations that might guide the Court's exercise of its discretion to grant or deny relief. In other words, Davis concerned jurisdictional, not prudential, limits on habeas review. See Withrow v. Williams, 507 U. S. 680, 716 (1993) (Scalia, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (the "sweeping" breadth of habeas jurisdiction is "tempered by the restraints that accompany the exercise of equitable discretion").
3 As a practical matter, this Court's direct review of state court decisions cannot adequately ensure uniformity. See id., at 721, n. (Scalia, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) ("Of course a federal forum is theoretically available in this Court, by writ of certiorari. Quite obviously, however, this mode of review cannot be generally applied due to practical limitations") (citation omitted).
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