Cite as: 523 U. S. 740 (1998)
Opinion of the Court
governs federal habeas proceedings against a State. Chapter 154 will apply in capital cases only if the State meets certain conditions. A State must establish "a mechanism for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel" in state postconviction proceedings, and "must provide standards of competency for the appointment of such counsel." § 2261(b) (States with separate postconviction review proceedings); § 2265(a) (States with unitary review procedures).1 The State must offer counsel to all capital defendants, and the state court must enter an order concerning appointment of counsel. §§ 2261(b), 2265(b). If a State meets these criteria, then it may invoke Chapter 154.
Various California officials, including petitioner Attorney General Lungren, publicly indicated that they thought California qualified under Chapter 154 and that they intended to invoke the chapter's protections. Respondent Troy Ashmus, a state prisoner sentenced to death, filed a class-action suit against petitioners. The class, which included all capital prisoners in California whose convictions were affirmed on direct appeal after June 6, 1989, sought declaratory and injunctive relief to resolve uncertainty over whether Chapter 154 applied.
The District Court issued a declaratory judgment holding that California does not presently qualify for Chapter 154 and that Chapter 154 therefore does not apply to any class members. It also issued a preliminary injunction enjoining petitioners from "trying or seeking to obtain for the State of California the benefits of the provisions of Chapter 154 . . . in any state or federal proceedings involving any class member." 935 F. Supp. 1048, 1076 (ND Cal. 1996).
1 It is undisputed here that California is a unitary review State, which is a State that allows prisoners to raise collateral challenges in the course of direct review of the judgment, such that all claims may be raised in a single state appeal. See 28 U. S. C. § 2265(a) (1994 ed., Supp. II).
743
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007