Bowe v. United States · ¶111

Accustomed as we are to proceeding by way of certiorari under § 1254(1), it's true that we have rarely accepted certified questions under § 1254(2). But a rare procedure befts rare circumstances. And this case involves a rare circumstance indeed—a circuit split that would otherwise stagger on forever. Rather than ignore § 2244's express constraint on our certiorari jurisdiction, then, we might have simply signaled to the courts of appeals our willingness to accept certification in this or a similar case. Cf. United States v. Rice, 327 U. S. 742, 746–747 (1946) (accepting certification in the uncommon situation of a “circuit court of appeals . . . equally divided on” questions of law).

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