Constitutional challenge to AEDPA standards?

Howard Bashman at How Appealing reports in this post that the Ninth Circuit, nearly a decade after congressional passage of revised federal habeas standards through the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”), is asking parties to address “whether AEDPA unconstitutionally prescribes the sources of law that the Judicial Branch must use in exercising its jurisdiction and whether under the separation of powers doctrine this court should decline to apply the AEDPA standards in this case.”

The Ninth Circuit’s order is available here, and Howard rightly notes that the Justice Department likely “would want to participate in this debate either as an amicus or through intervention to defend the constitutionality of this important federal law.”  Of course, any broad ruling about habeas review standards could impact not only the many state capital cases that move through federal habeas, but also could eventually impact state Blakely claims when they make their way into federal habeas.  This could be a big story that merits following closely.