Ruling on district court discretion to stay habeas [US SC] News
Ruling on district court discretion to stay habeas [US SC]

Rhines v. Weber, Supreme Court of the United States, March 30, 2005 [ruling that a federal district court has discretion to stay (rather than being compelled to dismiss) a habeas corpus petition which includes exhausted and unexhausted claims, in order to allow a petitioner to present his unexhausted claims to the state court in the first instance and then to return to federal court for review of his perfected petition]. Read the full text of the opinion here [PDF]. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.