Bowe v. United States · ¶66

This specific reference to §2254 was deliberate: Elsewhere in this very section, §2244 acknowledges §2255. See §2244(a) (referencing §2255); see also §§2253(c)(1)(A)–(B) (distinguishing a “final order” in a “habeas corpus proceeding in which the detention complained of arises out of process issued by a State court” from one “in a proceeding under section 2255”); §2266(a) (distinguishing an “application under section 2254” from a “motion under section 2255”). A cardinal rule of statutory interpretation teaches that “when we’re engaged in the business of interpreting statutes[,] we presume differences in language like this convey differences in meaning.” Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc., 582 U. S. 79, 86 (2017). Thus, by its plain terms, §2244(b)(1)’s old-claim bar applies only to state prisoners.

slip opinion
Source edition
Passage preview. Read in context for the complete text, notes and references.