182
Opinion of Stevens, J.
limitation period during the pendency of respondent's first federal habeas petition. The judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
Justice Souter, concurring.
Although I join the Court's opinion in full, I have joined Justice Stevens's separate opinion pointing out that nothing bars a district court from retaining jurisdiction pending complete exhaustion of state remedies, and that a claim for equitable tolling could present a serious issue on facts different from those before us.
Justice Stevens, with whom Justice Souter joins, concurring in part and concurring in the judgment.
For substantially the reasons stated in the Court's opinion, ante, at 172-178, I agree that the better reading of 28 U. S. C. § 2244(d)(2) (1994 ed., Supp. V) is that it encompasses only "State" applications for "post-conviction or other collateral review." Thus, as the Court holds, "an application for federal habeas corpus review is not an 'application for State post-conviction or other collateral review' within the meaning of 28 U. S. C. § 2244(d)(2)." Ante, at 181. I write separately to add two observations regarding the equitable powers of the federal courts, which are unaffected by today's decision construing a single provision of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), 110 Stat. 1214.
First, although the Court's pre-AEDPA decision in Rose v. Lundy, 455 U. S. 509, 522 (1982), prescribed the dismissal of federal habeas corpus petitions containing unexhausted claims, in our post-AEDPA world there is no reason why a district court should not retain jurisdiction over a meritorious claim and stay further proceedings pending the complete
Page: Index Previous 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007