Anthony Kennedy

“ A procedural system which permits an endless repetition of inquiry into facts and law in a vain search for ultimate certitude implies a lack of confidence about the possibilities of justice that cannot but war with the effectiveness of underlying substantive commands. ”

“ Georgia officials imposed McCleskey's capital sentence pursuant to a pattern and practice of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, and poverty; (3) the death penalty lacks theoretical or factual justification and fails to serve any rational interest; (4) McCleskey's death sentence is cruel and unusual punishment in light of all mitigating factors; (5) McCleskey received inadequate notice and opportunity to be heard; (6) the jury did not constitute a fair cross section of the community; (7) the jury was biased in favor of the prosecution ”

“ For cause to exist, the external impediment, whether it be government interference or the reasonable unavailability of the factual basis for the claim, must have prevented petitioner from raising the claim. ”

“ Price v. Johnston, 334 U.S. 266, 68 S.Ct. 1049, 92 L.Ed. 1356 (1948) , the next decision in this line, arose in a somewhat different context from Salinger or Wong Doo. In Price, the petitioner's fourth habeas petition alleged a claim that, arguably at least, was neither the explicit basis of a former petition nor inferable from the facts earlier alleged. The District Court and Court of Appeals dismissed the petition without hearing on the sole ground that the claim was not raised in one of the earlier habeas actions. ”

“ Id., at 486-488, 106 S.Ct., at 2644-45. Once the petitioner has established cause, he must show " 'actual prejudice' resulting from the errors of which he complains." United States v. Frady, 456 U.S. 152, 168, 102 S.Ct. 1584, 1594, 71 L.Ed.2d 816 (1982) .
Federal courts retain the authority to issue the writ of habeas corpus in a further, narrow class of cases despite a petitioner's failure to show cause for a procedural default. These are extraordinary instances when a constitutional violation probably has caused the conviction of one innocent of the crime. ”

“ It is true that a habeas court's concern to honor state procedural default rules rests in part on respect for the integrity of procedures "employed by a coordinate jurisdiction within the federal system," Wainwright v. ”

“ Finality has special importance in the context of a federal attack on a state conviction. Murray v. Carrier, supra, 477 U.S., at 487, 106 S.Ct., at 2644; Engle v. Isaac, supra, 456 U.S., at 128, 102 S.Ct., at 1572. Reexamination of state convictions on federal habeas "frustrate [s] . . . 'both the States' sovereign power to punish offenders and their good-faith attempts to honor constitutional rights.' " Murray v. Carrier, supra, 477 U.S., at 487, 106 S.Ct., at 2645 (quoting Engle, supra, 456 U.S., at 128, 102 S.Ct., at 1572) . ”

“ As appellate review became available from a decision in habeas refusing to discharge the prisoner, courts began to question the continuing validity of the common-law rule allowing endless successive petitions. Church 602. Some courts rejected the common-law rule, holding a denial of habeas relief res judicata. See, e.g., Perry v. McLendon, 62 Ga. 598, 603-605 (1879) ; McMahon v. Mead, 30 S.D. 515, 518, 139 N.W. 122, 123 (1912) ; Ex parte Heller, 146 Wis. 517, 524, 131 N.W. 991, 994 (1911) . Others adopted a middle position between the extremes of res judicata and endless successive petitions. ”

“ The court noted, moreover, that the evidence McCleskey wanted to inspect was "introduced to the jury in its entirety" through Evans' testimony, and that McCleskey's argument that "the evidence was needed in order to prepare a proper defense or impeach other witnesses ha [d] no merit because the evidence requested was statements made by [McCleskey] himself." Ibid. The court rejected McCleskey's other contentions and affirmed his conviction and sentence. Ibid. We denied certiorari. McClesky v. Georgia, 449 U.S. 891, 101 S.Ct. ”