Rose v. Lundy

71 L. Ed. 2d 379 · Supreme Court of the United States · 1982

Facts

Respondent Noah Lundy was convicted of rape and crime against nature in Tennessee state court. After unsuccessfully seeking postconviction relief in state court, Lundy filed a habeas corpus petition in federal district court alleging four grounds for relief, two of which had not been exhausted in state court.

Issue

Does the exhaustion rule in 28 U.S.C. §§ 2254(b), (c) require a federal district court to dismiss a habeas corpus petition containing any claims that have not been exhausted in the state courts?

Holding

Yes, the Supreme Court held that a district court must dismiss such “mixed petitions,” leaving the prisoner with the choice of returning to state court to exhaust his claims or of amending or resubmitting the habeas petition to present only exhausted claims to the district court.

Rule

A district court must dismiss habeas petitions containing both unexhausted and exhausted claims because a total exhaustion rule promotes comity and does not unreasonably impair the prisoner’s right to relief.

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Case brief last reviewed 2026-01-16. Prepared by CaseReader from the published opinion.