We vacate our order in this case dated January 20, 2016, and replace it with this order. Anthony Johnson has filed a pro se application for authorization to file a second or successive 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his federal sentence. We can authorize such a filing only if we certify that the second or successive motion is based on either:
(1) newly discovered evidence that, if proven and viewed in light of the evidence as a whole, would be sufficient to establish by clear and convincing evidence that no reasonable factfinder would have found the movant guilty of the offense; or
(2) a new rule of constitutional law, made retroactive to cases on collateral review by the Supreme Court, that was рreviously unavailable.
Mr. Johnson’s application relies in part on Johnson v. United States, — U.S. -,
We recognize that it will likely take the Supreme Court longer than 30 days from now to decide Welch. This means that we may not rule on Mr. Johnson’s application within the 30-day timeframe specified by 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(D) (“The court of appeals shall grant or deny the authorization to file a second or successive application not later than 30 days after the filing of the motion.”). This Court has never decided if this 30-day timeframe is mandatory in all circumstances. All seven of the Courts of Appeals that have decided this question in a published opinion have said it is not.
I.
We do not read the language of § 2244(b)(3)(D) to make the 30-day time-frame mandatory no matter the circumstances of any individual case. It’s true that the statute says a court “shall grant or deny” applications like Mr. Johnson’s “not later than 30 days” after filing. But compliance with this timeline may not be just in those rare сases when extraordinary circumstances arise.
In Gutierrez de Martinez v. Lamagno, the Supreme Court recognized that, “[tjhough ‘shall’ generally means ‘must,’
Our predecessor court has explained in binding precedent that “[a] statutory time period is not mandatory unless it both expressly requires an agency or public official to act within a particular time period and specifies a consequence for failure to comply with the provision.” Fort Worth Nat. Corp. v. Fed. Sav. & Loan Ins. Corp.,
“It is also well recognized that ‘Congress sometimes legislates by innuendo, making declarations of policy and indicating a preference while requiring measures that, though falling short of legislating its goals, serve as a nudge in the preferred directions.’ ” Siggers,
Here, “shall” is of course a more compelling directive than “may”: it reflects Congress’s strong preference for the swift disposition of successor applications. But the term “shall” does not foreclose all exceptions. The Seventh Circuit offered the following analogy in Gray-Bey:
[I]n the Regional Rail Reorganization Act Cases and Dames & Moore v. Regan, the [Supreme] Court saved the constitutionality of statutes (the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ... in Dames & Moore and the Regional Rail Reorganization Act [in the RegionalRail Reorganization Act Cases ]) against takings challenges by noting that Congress had not taken the independent step of repealing the Tucker Act.[ 3 ] The Court felt free to do so even though the laws in question made no mention of the Tucker Act. Just so here: Congress imposed the 30-day time limit in § 2244(b)(3), but it did not repeal the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651; Congress thus recognized that courts retain the power to take extraordinary steps when they are needed.
Relatedly, the timeframe set forth in § 2244(b)(3)(D) implicates a court’s power to hold proceedings in abeyance, and “[a]n appellate court’s power to hold an order in abeyance ... has beеn described as ‘inherent,’ preserved in the grant of authority to federal courts to ‘issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law,’ All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a).” Nken v. Holder,
Our conclusion finds further support in “the fact that equitable principles have traditionally governed the substantive law of habeas corpus.” Holland v. Florida,
Although the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AED-PA) established certаin procedural limits on the scope of habeas review (including the gatekeeping provision at issue in this case), it did so “without undermining basic habeas corpus principles and while seeking to harmonize the new statute with prior law.” Holland,
There is another reason to join the view of the other Courts of Appeals on this question: “when deciding which of two plausible statutory constructions to аdopt, a court must consider the necessary consequences of its choice. If one of them would raise a multitude of constitutional problems, the other should prevail— whether or not those constitutional problems pertain to the particular litigant before the Court.” Clark v. Martinez,
“[W]e resistf ] an interpretation of the statute that would produce troublesome results, create procedural anomalies, and close our doors to a class of habeas petitioners seeking review without any clear indication that such was Congress’ intent.” Panetti,
The quеstion therefore is, what circumstances are appropriate? We agree with our sister circuits that the category of cases where we may exercise our discretion to grant or deny authorization after more than 30 days is small. See Gray-Bey,
We think this case is extrаordinary because of the convergence of four unusual circumstances. First, unlike in cases where the Supreme Court has granted certiorari on only the substantive issue, here the Supreme Court has already decided the substantive issue in Mr. Johnson’s favor — namely, that prior convictions may not qualify as ACCA predicates under the residual clause. The only remaining question is whether that substantive rule should be retroactively applied. This circumstance, where the Supreme Court has already determined the substantive law in the petitioner’s favor and all that remains to be considered is retroactivity, arises infrequently.
Third, because applications for second or successive petitions based on Johnson arguably must be filed before June 26, 2016 (we do not decide that question now), if the Supremе Court concludes in Welch that Johnson is retroactive, failing to hold the applications in abeyance could deprive petitioners of the benefit of Johnson’s ret-roactivity and render a determination of retroactivity meaningless, as a practical matter.
And finally, the issue Mr. Johnson raises implicates significant concerns of judicial economy. The Supreme Court has recognized that our traditional equitable authority includes the power to make adjustments “that will avoid the waste of a tentative decision as well as the friction of
The convergence of all four of these circumstances is extraordinary and merits spending additional time to arrive at a better-informed decision.
II.
Our ruling today follows how we have long treated § 2244(b). This isn’t the first time we have recognized that the § 2244(b)(3)(D) timeframe can be exceeded when proper handling of a case requires more than 30 days. In the pаst, we have scheduled briefing and oral argument beyond the 30-day timeframe. See In re Davis,
Our Court has also recognized our power to sua sponte order rehearing of an application to file a second or successive § 2255 mоtion. See In re Lambrix,
III.
We are aware of this Court’s recent suggestion that “this Court necessarily must apply § 2244(b)(2) under a tight
Mr. Henry was a death row inmate who filed a request for stay of execution just four days before his scheduled execution, along with an emergency application for leave to file a second or successive federal habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b). Henry,
Three days after Mr. Henry filed his emergency application, our Court denied it “for two independent reasons: first, the rule enunciated in Hall v. Florida ha[d] not been made retroactive by the United States Supreme Court; moreover, even if it had been, [Mr. Henry] ha[d] not shown a reasonable likelihood that he would benefit from the rule in Hall.”
IV.
For all of these reasons, we hold Mr. Johnson’s application in abeyance, pending the Supreme Cоurt’s decision in Welch.
APPLICATION HELD IN ABEYANCE.
Notes
. See Rodriguez v. Bay State Corr. Ctr.,
The Third, Eighth, and D.C. Circuits do not appear to have ruled on this question. And though the Fifth Circuit has said it is "statutorily required” to rule within 30 days, In re White,
. In Bonner v. City of Prichard,
. The Tucker Act, in place at the time the Regional Rail Reorganization Act Cases were decided, provided in pertinent part:
The Court of Claims shall have jurisdiction to render judgment upon any claim against the United States founded either upon the Constitution, or any Act of Congress, or any regulation of an executive department, or upon any express or implied contract with the United States, or fore liquidаted or un-liquidated damages in cases not sounding in tort.
28 U.S.C. § 1491 (amended).
. The exact mechanism used to ensure time for proper consideration of a case can vary. In Triestman v. United States,
. Our research has revealed only nine such cases since AEDPA went into effect 20 years agо: Montgomery v. Louisiana, - U.S. -,
. The Sixth and Seventh Circuits have held that the Supreme Court already made Johnson retroactive for cases on collateral review. See In re Watkins,
