Opinion ID: 12712
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the applicability of the aedpa

Text: 21 Before we discuss the applicable standard of review and Rector's claims, we first address the (now) thorny problem of whether the newly enacted Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), Pub.L. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214 (1996) applies to Rector's appeal. Prior to June 23, 1997, the answer to this question was settled in this Circuit: the AEDPA did in fact apply to cases pending on the day the President signed the bill into law (i.e., April 24, 1996). See Drinkard v. Johnson, 97 F.3d 751 (5th Cir.1996), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 1114, 137 L.Ed.2d 315 (1997). As such, because Rector's federal habeas petition was pending as of April 24, 1996, the AEDPA would have applied to this appeal. 22 On June 23, 1997--while this appeal was pending in our court--the Supreme Court handed down Lindh v. Murphy, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 2059, 138 L.Ed.2d 481 (1997), in which the Court held that (in noncapital cases at least), the AEDPA does not apply to cases pending on the Act's effective date. It is unclear whether or not the reasoning in Lindh effectively overrules Drinkard (a capital case) and compels us to apply pre-AEDPA standards to Rector's appeal. 2 We need not decide this question, however, because its resolution is not necessary to the disposition of Rector's appeal, for whether his claims are analyzed under AEDPA or pre-AEDPA standards, Rector is not entitled to federal habeas relief. See, e.g., Livingston v. Johnson, 107 F.3d 297, 302 (5th Cir.1997). Accordingly, we apply our pre-AEDPA case law to this appeal and construe Rector's notice of appeal as a request for a CPC. 3