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Opinion of the Court
at 67. Having construed the statutory term "in custody" to require that consecutive sentences be viewed in the aggregate, we will not now adopt a different construction simply because the sentence imposed under the challenged conviction lies in the past rather than in the future.5
Mississippi urges, as a prime reason for its construction of the "in custody" requirement, that allowing a habeas attack on a sentence nominally completed would "encourage and reward delay in the assertion of habeas challenges." Brief for Respondent 28. As Mississippi observes, in Peyton we rejected the prematurity rule of McNally in part because of "the harshness of a rule which may delay determination of federal claims for decades." Peyton, 391 U. S., at 61. Mississippi argues that Garlotte's reading of the words "in custody" would undermine the expeditious adjudication rationale of Peyton. Brief for Respondent 6-7, 27-28.
Our holding today, however, is unlikely to encourage delay. A prisoner naturally prefers release sooner to release later. Further, because the habeas petitioner generally bears the burden of proof, delay is apt to disadvantage the petitioner more than the State. Nothing in this record, we note, suggests that Garlotte has been dilatory in challenging his marijuana conviction. Finally, under Habeas Corpus Rule 9(a), a district court may dismiss a habeas petition if the State
5 That Mississippi itself views consecutive sentences in the aggregate for various penological purposes reveals the difficulties courts and prisoners would face trying to determine when one sentence ends and a consecutive sentence begins. For example, Mississippi aggregates consecutive sentences for the purpose of determining parole eligibility, see Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-3(1) (Supp. 1994) ("Every prisoner . . . who has served not less than one-fourth (1/4) of the total of such term or terms for which such prisoner was sentenced . . . may be released on parole as hereinafter provided . . . .") (emphasis added), and for the purpose of determining commutation of sentences for meritorious earned-time credit. See Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-139(3) (1981) ("An offender under two (2) or more consecutive sentences shall be allowed commutation based upon the total term of the sentences.") (emphasis added).
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