Cite as: 538 U. S. 202 (2003)
Souter, J., dissenting
writ of habeas corpus." § 2254(a). See also §§ 2254(b)(1), 2254(b)(2), 2254(d), 2254(e)(1).
It does not follow from our case law, nor does it follow from the text of § 2254 or any other habeas provision, that a habeas applicant can receive the benefit of the pre-AEDPA version of § 2254 when § 2254 itself cannot be triggered until the prisoner files an application for a writ of habeas corpus. A "case" simply could not have existed for purposes of § 2254 until Garceau filed the application itself. Finally, Garceau has no reliance interest here. The pre-AEDPA version of § 2254(d) specifically acknowledged that a habeas applicant was entitled to the then-existing less-restrictive version of § 2254(d) only when the prisoner "instituted" a "proceeding . . . by an application for a writ of habeas corpus." 28 U. S. C. § 2254(d) (1994 ed.).
Because 28 U. S. C. § 2254 is triggered only when a prisoner files an application for a writ of habeas corpus, and because Garceau filed his petition after AEDPA's date, I concur in the judgment of the Court that the post-AEDPA version of § 2254(d) governs his claim.
Justice Souter, with whom Justice Ginsburg and Justice Breyer join, dissenting.
In modifying 28 U. S. C. § 2254, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), 110 Stat. 1214, did not specifically identify the state habeas cases that the amended statute would govern, except in certain capital cases subject to special rules not applicable here. Lindh v. Murphy, 521 U. S. 320, 326 (1997), held that in the statute's general application, the amendments cover only cases filed after AEDPA's effective date. Here we have to take the further step of deciding when a case is filed for purposes of the Lindh rule.
The majority focuses on 28 U. S. C. § 2254 alone, which is fair enough where a habeas petitioner's first encounter with the district court occurs in filing the petition for habeas relief
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