872
Thomas, J., dissenting
by the filing of a motion for appointment of counsel. Thus, to avoid the conclusion that a "proceeding" in § 2251 is commenced by the filing of an application for habeas relief, the Court is forced to hold that by enacting § 848(q), Congress amended the habeas statute sub silentio. Cf. ante, at 863 (O'Connor, J., concurring in judgment in part and dissenting in part).3 In effect, the Court determines that Congress, in providing death-sentenced prisoners with federally funded counsel in § 848(q)(4)(B), intended to expand the jurisdiction of the federal courts to stay state proceedings under the habeas statute. Yet § 848(q)(4)(B) in no way suggests a connection between the availability of counsel and the stay power; indeed, the provision does not even mention the term "stay." A proper interpretation of the provisions at issue here, however, avoids the dubious assumption that Congress intended to effect such an amendment of the habeas statute by implication. Correctly interpreted, both §§ 848(q)(4)(B) and 2251 refer to a "proceeding" that begins with the filing of an application for habeas relief, after which a federal court has jurisdiction to enter a stay and to appoint counsel.
In reaching its expansive interpretation of § 2251, the Court ignores the fact that the habeas statute provides federal courts with exceptional powers. Federal habeas review "disturbs the State's significant interest in repose for concluded litigation, denies society the right to punish some admitted offenders, and intrudes on state sovereignty to a degree matched by few exercises of federal judicial authority."
3 Presumably, the Court's holding regarding a federal court's jurisdiction to stay a state proceeding only applies when a state prisoner is "seeking to vacate or set aside a death sentence." 21 U. S. C. § 848(q)(4)(B). Thus, after today, the "proceeding" to which § 2251 refers will have two different meanings depending upon whether the stay is sought by a capital or non-capital prisoner. In the former situation, a "habeas corpus proceeding" under § 2251 will be "pending" once a motion for appointment of counsel is filed. In the latter, no matter how many preliminary motions a prisoner might file, a proceeding will not be "pending" until an application for habeas relief is filed.
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