Supreme Court of the United States
Woodford v. Garceau — Souter, J., dissenting
March 25, 2003538 U.S. 202
Summary
Justice Souter dissents, arguing that the pre‑AEDPA version of 28 U.S.C. §2254 should govern Garceau’s habeas petition because the district court first evaluated the merits of the case before the AEDPA effective date. He contends that related statutory provisions must be read together, so the filing date for Lindh’s rule is when the court first takes the case’s standards into account. The dissent does not change the Court’s judgment, which applied the post‑AEDPA version.