Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/529bv.pdf
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Unit: $U46

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Cite as: 529 U. S. 362 (2000)

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Opinion of Stevens, J.

all cases where any person may be restrained of his or her
liberty in violation of the constitution, or of any treaty or
law of the United States . . . .” Act of Feb. 5, 1867, ch. 28,
§ 1, 14 Stat. 385. Over the years, the federal habeas corpus
statute has been repeatedly amended, but the scope of that
jurisdictional grant remains the same.7
It is, of course, well
settled that the fact that constitutional error occurred in the
proceedings that led to a state-court conviction may not
alone be sufﬁcient reason for concluding that a prisoner is
entitled to the remedy of habeas. See, e. g., Stone v. Powell,
428 U. S. 465 (1976); Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U. S. 619
(1993). On the other hand, errors that undermine conﬁdence
in the fundamental fairness of the state adjudication cer-
tainly justify the issuance of the federal writ. See, e. g.,
Teague v. Lane, 489 U. S. 288, 311–314 (1989)
(quoting
Mackey v. United States, 401 U. S. 667, 692–694 (1971) (Har-
lan, J., concurring in judgments in part and dissenting in
part), and quoting Rose v. Lundy, 455 U. S. 509, 544 (1982)
(Stevens, J., dissenting)). The deprivation of the right to
the effective assistance of counsel recognized in Strickland
is such an error. Strickland, 466 U. S., at 686, 697–698.

The warden here contends that federal habeas corpus re-
lief is prohibited by the amendment to 28 U. S. C. § 2254 (1994
ed., Supp. III), enacted as a part of the Antiterrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). The rele-
vant portion of that amendment provides:

. .

7 By Act of Congress: “(a) Writs of habeas corpus may be granted by the
Supreme Court, any justice thereof, the district courts and any circuit
judge within their respective jurisdictions.
. (c) The writ of habeas
corpus shall not extend to a prisoner unless— . . . (3) He is in custody in
violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States . . . .”
28 U. S. C. § 2241(c)(3).
In parallel, § 2254(a) provides: “The Supreme
Court, a Justice thereof, a circuit judge, or a district court shall entertain
an application for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of a person in custody
pursuant to the judgment of a State court only on the ground that he
is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the
United States.”