Whether AEDPA's restrictions on second or successive habeas petitions apply retroactively to petitioners who filed pre-AEDPA federal habeas litigation

QUESTION PRESENTED Mr. Olsen is a state prisoner litigating a federal habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. §2254. He previously filed Section 2254 litigation before Congress enacted substantial changes to the federal habeas framework in 1996 in the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (““AEDPA”). Among other things, AEDPA created more stringent restrictions on a petitioner’s ability to file so-called second or successive federal habeas litigation. See 28 U.S.C. §2244(b) (1996). After those statutory changes, Mr. Olsen filed the instant federal habeas petition. The Ninth Circuit’s prior precedent holds that the new 1996 restrictions apply retroactively to petitioners who filed their earlier litigation before Congress passed AEDPA. Mr. Olsen challenged that precedent. As he explained, AEDPA would have an impermissible retroactive effect if it prevented a petitioner from pursuing second or successive habeas litigation that would’ve been appropriate under pre-AEDPA law. The Ninth Circuit rejected Mr. Olsen’s challenge. The circuit courts of appeals have developed a deep, 1-6-1 split over the rules that apply when a petitioner pursued pre-AEDPA federal habeas litigation and then attempts to file a second-in-time post-AEDPA petition. The question presented is: If a petitioner litigated a pre-AEDPA federal habeas petition, do AEDPA’s new restrictions on second or successive petitions apply retroactively to that petitioner? i