Cite as: 523 U. S. 614 (1998)
Scalia, J., dissenting
eral Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(2), which required challenges to the composition of the grand jury to be made by pretrial motion—a Rule that has no counterpart in the guilty plea context—coupled with the absence of the kind of prejudice that is present here.
The Court has never held that the constitutionality of a guilty plea cannot be attacked collaterally unless it is first challenged on direct review. Moreover, as the facts of this case demonstrate, such a holding would be unwise and would defeat the very purpose of collateral review. A layman who justifiably relied on incorrect advice from the court and counsel in deciding to plead guilty to a crime that he did not commit will ordinarily continue to assume that such advice was accurate during the time for taking an appeal. The injustice of his conviction is not mitigated by the passage of time. His plea should be treated as a nullity and the conviction based on such a plea should be voided.
Because the record in this case already unambiguously demonstrates that petitioner's plea to the § 924(c) charge is invalid as a matter of constitutional law, I would remand with directions to vacate his § 924(c) conviction and allow him to plead anew.
Justice Scalia, with whom Justice Thomas joins, dissenting.
I agree with the Court that petitioner has not demonstrated "cause" for failing to challenge the validity of his guilty plea on direct review. I disagree, however, that a defendant who has pleaded guilty can be given the opportunity to avoid the consequences of his inexcusable procedural default by having the courts inquire into whether " 'it is more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have convicted him' " of the offense to which he pleaded guilty. Ante, at 623, quoting Schlup v. Delo, 513 U. S. 298, 327-328 (1995).
No criminal-law system can function without rules of procedure conjoined with a rule of finality. Evidence not intro-
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