342
Scalia, J., dissenting
elements that affect the weight to be given the testimony of a witness. After such a hearing, the district court would be in as good a position as possible to make the required determination as to the showing of actual innocence.
The present state of our habeas jurisprudence is less than ideal in its complexity, but today's decision needlessly adds to that complexity. I believe that by adopting the Sawyer standard both for attacks on the sentence and on the judgment of conviction, we would take a step in the direction of simplifying this jurisprudence. See Keeney v. Tamayo-Reyes, 504 U. S. 1, 10 (1992) (noting the importance of uniformity in the law of habeas corpus). The Sawyer standard strikes the proper balance among the State's interest in finality, McCleskey v. Zant, 499 U. S. 467, 491-492 (1991), the federal courts' respect for principles of federalism, see, e. g., Teague v. Lane, 489 U. S. 288, 309 (1989) (plurality opinion), and "the ultimate equity on the prisoner's side—a sufficient showing of actual innocence," Withrow v. Williams, 507 U. S. 680, 700 (1993) (O'Connor, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part). The Court of Appeals fully analyzed petitioner's new evidence and determined that petitioner fell way short of " 'showing by clear and convincing evidence [that] no reasonable juror would find him [guilty of murder].' " 11 F. 3d 738, 743 (CA8 1993) (quoting Sawyer, supra, at 348). I agree and therefore would affirm.
But if we are to adopt the Carrier standard, it should not be the confusing exegesis of that standard contained in the Court's opinion. It should be based on a modified version of Jackson v. Virginia, with a clearly defined area in which the district court may exercise its discretion to hold an evidentiary hearing.
Justice Scalia, with whom Justice Thomas joins, dissenting.
A federal statute entitled "Finality of Determination"—to be found at § 2244 of Title 28 of the United States Code—
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