Whether a court of appeals may deny a § 2255 motion on the merits rather than remanding to the district court

QUESTION PRESENTED Where 28 U.S.C. § 2255 grants convicted federal inmates the right, in lieu of common law habeas corpus, to “move the court which imposed the sentence” to grant relief from constitutional violations, may a court of appeals, upon concluding that the district court erroneously dismissed the § 2255 motion as procedurally defaulted without reaching the merits, deny the § 2255 motion on the merits, rather than remanding to the district court for the post-conviction review guaranteed by the statute? i INTERESTED PARTIES The caption contains the names of all of the parties interested in the proceedings.