Title 28 — Judiciary and Judicial ProcedureRelease 119-73not60
§2264 Scope of Federal Review; District Court Adjudications
Title 28 › Part VI— PARTICULAR PROCEEDINGS › Chapter 154— SPECIAL HABEAS CORPUS PROCEDURES IN CAPITAL CASES › § 2264
Summary
If a death-row prisoner asks a federal court to review their case, the court will only consider claims that were decided in state court, unless one of three things applies: the state caused the failure in violation of federal law; the Supreme Court made a new federal right retroactive; or the claim rests on facts not discoverable earlier. After those limits, the court must rule on the claims before it.
Full Legal Text
Title 28, §2264
Judiciary and Judicial Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Whenever a State prisoner under capital sentence files a petition for habeas corpus relief to which this chapter applies, the district court shall only consider a claim or claims that have been raised and decided on the merits in the State courts, unless the failure to raise the claim properly is—
(1)the result of State action in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States;
(2)the result of the Supreme Court’s recognition of a new Federal right that is made retroactively applicable; or
(3)based on a factual predicate that could not have been discovered through the exercise of due diligence in time to present the claim for State or Federal post-conviction review.
(b)Following review subject to subsections (a), (d), and (e) of section 2254, the court shall rule on the claims properly before it.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section applicable to cases pending on or after Apr. 24, 1996, see section 107(c) of Pub. L. 104–132, set out as a note under section 2261 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
28 U.S.C. § 2264
Title 28 — Judiciary and Judicial Procedure
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60