Cite as: 537 U. S. 88 (2002)
Stevens, J., dissenting
between a Rule 60(b) motion and a "second or successive" habeas corpus petition, Judge Tjoflat wrote:
"The distinction lies in the harm each is designed to cure. A 'second or successive' habeas corpus petition, as discussed above, is meant to address two specific types of constitutional claims by prisoners: (1) claims that 'rel[y] on a new rule of constitutional law,' and (2) claims that rely on a rule of constitutional law and are based on evidence that 'could not have been discovered previously through the exercise of due diligence' and would establish the petitioner's factual innocence. 28 U. S. C. § 2244(b)(3)(A). Neither of these types of claims challenges the district court's previous denial of relief under 28 U. S. C. § 2254. Instead, each alleges that the contextual circumstances of the proceeding have changed so much that the petitioner's conviction or sentence now runs afoul of the Constitution.
"In contrast, a motion for relief under Rule 60 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure contests the integrity of the proceeding that resulted in the district court's judgment.
. . . . . "When a habeas corpus petitioner moves for relief under, for example, Rule 60(b)(3), he is impugning the integrity of the district court's judgment rejecting his petition on the ground that the State obtained the judgment by fraud. Asserting this claim is quite different from contending, as the petitioner would in a successive habeas corpus petition, that his conviction or sentence was obtained 'in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.' 28 U. S. C. § 2254(a).
"In sum, a 'second or successive' habeas corpus petition, like all habeas corpus petitions, is meant to remedy constitutional violations (albeit ones which arise out of facts discovered or laws evolved after an initial habeas corpus proceeding), while a Rule 60(b) motion is de-
95
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007