SECTION 2254(D) OF THE NEW HABEAS STATUTE - AN (OPINIONATED) USERS MANUAL

The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 made wholes ale changes to the federal habeas corpus statute. In particular, the s tatute contains a new section 2254(d), which controls the standards th at federal habeas courts must employ when reviewing state convictions. This new provision governing the standards of review applies generall y to petitions filed after April 24, 1996, the effective date of the A ct. The provision's text, however, is critically ambiguous in several respects. Because most of the federal circuit courts of appeal have no t yet settled even basic interpretive questions about section 2254(d), federal district courts and circuit panels are often writing on a cle an slate. In this Article, Professor Lee systematically offers interpr etive suggestions to federal judges construing section 2254(d) for the first time. Specifically, Professor Lee proposes answers to the follo wing questions: (1) Whether different standards apply to pure legal qu estions versus mixed questions of law and fact; (2) what test should b e used to determine what state court applications of law to fact are ' 'unreasonable;'' (3) what test should be used to ascertain when federa l law is ''clearly established;'' and (4) to what degree federal habea s courts may use decisions from the federal circuit courts when review ing the constitutional infirmity of. state court adjudications.