Page:Jones v. Hendrix.pdf/35

Rh the contrary, the enactment history of §2255 plainly establishes that Congress wanted to ensure that a prisoner’s claim was “saved” in at least one additional set of circumstances: Where the prisoner would have been able to bring such a claim prior to the enactment of §2255 (or any subsequent changes, like those made by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA)), but somehow cannot bring that claim after a change to the statutory framework (unless Congress has clearly expressed its intent to restrict the scope of relief in that regard). As the majority has interpreted §2255(h), that is precisely the situation here.

To understand why Congress meant for Jones to be able to invoke the saving clause and bring his statutory innocence claim in a habeas petition filed under §2241, a firm grasp of the text, history, and intended operation of §2255(e) is required.

The saving clause is the latter part of §2255(e), which states in full:

"“An application for a writ of habeas corpus [o]n behalf of a prisoner who is authorized to apply for relief by motion pursuant to this section, shall not be entertained if it appears that the applicant has failed to apply for relief, by motion, to the court which sentenced him, or that such court has denied him relief, unless it also appears that the remedy by motion is inadequate or ineffective to test the legality of his detention.” §2255(e) (emphasis added); see also §2255 (1946 ed., Supp. II) (§2255 (1948))."

Before §2255 was enacted in 1948, federal prisoners collaterally attacked their convictions by filing a habeas petition. See United States v. Hayman, 342 U. S. 205, 210–213