Cite as: 523 U. S. 538 (1998)
Opinion of the Court
and rape special circumstance, to the defendant's prejudice. A plurality of the court would have granted habeas relief on the additional ground of inconsistent theories by the prosecution at his trial and the later trial of David Leitch. The majority made no effort to determine whether Thompson was actually innocent of the rape and murder of Fleischli. The court nonetheless affirmed the District Court's grant of the writ as to the rape conviction and rape special circumstance, vacated Thompson's death sentence, and further "remand[ed] the question of the murder conviction for [the District Court's] initial consideration in light of our vacatur of the rape conviction." Id., at 1060. Thus, almost 16 years after Fleischli's murder, the Ninth Circuit directed the District Court to "enter the partial writ unless the State elects to retry Thompson within a reasonable time." Ibid.
Four judges dissented. Judge Hall argued the majority's decision allowed Thompson to evade AEDPA's restrictions on successive petitions. Id., at 1064-1066. Judge Kozinski detailed the circumstances which led the majority to find its en banc process had malfunctioned. He asserted that, contrary to the majority's conclusion, the court's en banc process "operated just as it's supposed to." Id., at 1067. In a third dissenting opinion, Judge Kleinfeld recited in detail the evidence of Thompson's guilt of rape. Id., at 1073.
Within hours of the Court of Appeals' order recalling its mandate, the State of California filed with this Court a second petition for a writ of mandamus, which we construed as a petition for certiorari. We granted the petition, 521 U. S. 1136 (1997), and now reverse.
II
Although some Justices have expressed doubt on the point, see, e. g., United States v. Ohio Power Co., 353 U. S. 98, 102- 103 (1957) (Harlan, J., dissenting), the courts of appeals are recognized to have an inherent power to recall their mandates, subject to review for an abuse of discretion. Hawaii
549
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