Source: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/523/740.html
Timestamp: 2017-01-23 12:55:50
Document Index: 544415193

Matched Legal Cases: ['§2263', '§2244', '§2261', '§2263', '§2262', '§2266', '§2266', '§2244', '§2261', '§2265', '§2261', '§2265', '§ 848', '§ 2201', '§ 1331', '§ 2201', '§ 2242', '§2254', '§17', '§2266', '§ 1292', '§2265']

CALDERON v. ASHMUS | FindLaw
CALDERON, WARDEN, ET AL . v. ASHMUS, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF ALL OTHERS SIMILARLY SITUATED CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT No. 97-391., (1998)
Argued: March 24, 1998 Decided: May 26, 1998
an expedited review process-including a 180-day filing period, 28 U. S. C. A. §2263(a)-for federal habeas proceedings in capital cases in States that meet certain conditions. Proceedings against other States are governed by Chapter 153, which has a 1-year filing period, §2244(d)(1), and lacks expedited procedures. After California officials, including petitioner state attorney general, indicated that they would invoke Chapter 154's protections, respondent, a state capital prisoner, sought declaratory and injunctive relief to resolve whether the Chapter applied to a class of capital prisoners whose convictions were affirmed after a particular date. The Federal District Court issued a declaratory judgment, holding that California did not qualify for Chapter 154 and therefore the Chapter did not apply to the class, and enjoined petitioners from invoking the Chapter in any proceedings involving class members. In affirming, the Ninth Circuit rejected petitioners' claim that the Eleventh Amendment barred respondent's suit; determined that the District Court had authority to issue a declaratory judgment under the Federal Declaratory Judgment Act; and rejected petitioners' contention that the injunction violated the First Amendment. Before reaching the Eleventh and First Amendment issues on which certiorari was granted, this Court must address whether the action is the type of "Article III" "case or controversy" to which federal courts are limited. See, e.g., FW/PBS, Inc. v. Dallas, 493 U.S. 215, 230
Chapter 154 of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), 28 U. S. C. A. §2261 et seq . (Supp. 1998), provides certain procedural advantages to qualifying States in federal habeas proceedings. This case requires us to decide whether state death-row inmates may sue state officials for declaratory and injunctive relief limited to determining whether California qualifies under Chapter 154.
Chapter 154 revises procedural rules for federal habeas proceedings in capital cases. Most notably, it provides for an expedited review process in proceedings brought against qualifying States. It imposes a 180-day limitation period for filing a federal habeas petition. §2263(a). It treats an untimely petition as a successive petition for purposes of obtaining a stay of execution, §2262(c), and it allows a prisoner to amend a petition after an answer is filed only where the prisoner meets the requirements for a successive petition, §2266 (b)(3)(B). Chapter 154 also obli gates a federal district court to render a final judgment on any petition within 180 days of its filing, and a court of appeals to render a final determination within 120 days of the briefing. §§2266(a) and (c).
As a general rule, Chapter 153-which has a 1-year filing period, §2244(d)(1), and lacks expedited review procedures-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 post-conviction 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.
(1908), because respondent sufficiently alleged a continuing violation of federal law. 123 F. 3d, at 1204-1206. California's announced intention to invoke Chapter 154, without having complied with its requirements, threatened to violate the class members' right to thorough federal review of their first habeas petitions, pursuant to Chapter 153, and their right to assistance of counsel in federal habeas proceedings, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 848(q). By stating its intention to invoke Chapter 154, the Court of Appeals reasoned, California forced inmates to make an unacceptable choice: filing a pro se petition within 180 days in order to ensure compliance with Chapter 154, which may fail to raise substantial claims, or waiting until counsel is appointed, which may miss the 180-day filing deadline if Chapter 154 applies. 123 F. 3d, at 1204-1205.
The Court of Appeals also determined that the District Court had authority to issue a declaratory judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a). 123 F. 3d, at 1206-1207. It noted that a declaratory judgment plaintiff need only demonstrate an independent basis of federal jurisdiction and an actual case or controversy. Id., at 1206. The District Court had federal question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 because the case challenged the interpretation of a federal act. And the case or controversy requirement was satisfied, the court concluded, because "the State's threats to invoke Chapter 154 will significantly affect the plaintiffclass's ability to obtain habeas corpus review by a federal court." 123 F. 3d , at 1207 .
That Act provides that "[i]n a case of actual controversy within its jurisdiction, . . . any court of the United States . . . may declare the rights and other legal relations of any interested party seeking such declaration, whether or not further relief is or could be sought." 28 U.S.C. § 2201. See also Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 57. Thus, in Aetna Life Ins., we held that an insurance company could bring a declaratory judgment action to determine the validity of insurance policies. The company and the insured disputed whether the policies had lapsed and how much was currently payable, but the insured had not brought suit to recover benefits. 300 U.S., at 239
The Court says that "[respondents] can litigate California's compliance with Chapter 154" when they "file habeas petitions." Ante , at 7. In light of the Court of Appeals' concern, echoed by respondent class members, that without declaratory relief, they would be placed in an untenable remedial "dilemma," Brief for Respondent 16-17, 3537; 123 F. 3d 1199, 1205 (CA9 1997), I would add that it should prove possible for at least some habeas petitioners to obtain a relatively expeditious judicial answer to the Chapter 154 compliance question and thereby provide legal guidance for others. That is because, in at least some cases, whether a petitioner can or cannot amend, say, a "bare bones" habeas petition (filed within 180 days) will likely depend upon whether California does, or does not, qualify as an "opt-in" State. Compare 28 U.S.C. § 2242 (ordinary amendment rules); §2254 Rule 11 (rules of civil procedure applicable to federal habeas petitions); 1 J. Liebman & R. Hertz, Federal Habeas Corpus Practice and Procedure §17.2 (2d ed. 1994 and Supp. 1997) (Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15's liberal standard for amendment applies to habeas petitions in States not eligible for Chapter 154) with 28 U. S. C. A. §2266(b)(3)(B) (Supp. 1998) (setting forth strict standard for amendment applicable where State falls within Chapter 154). And a district court's determination that turned on the legal answer to that question might well qualify for interlocutory appeal. See 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b) (permitting certification, and hence interlocutory appeal, of certain district court determinations). With this understanding, I join the Court's opinion. Footnotes
] 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. A. §2265(a) (Supp. 1998).
] Respondent conceded this point in earlier briefings. Brief in Opposition 7. Respondent now contends, however, that habeas proceedings will not provide an effective remedy because the class members still will be put in the file-or-default dilemma and because a decision in one case will not relieve the other members of their continuing uncertainty. Brief for Respondent 35-36. But as explained, supra , at 6-7, the dilemma the class members face does not establish a case in the constitutional sense. And the inability to bind the government as to the whole class does not affect that determination. FindLaw Career Center
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