CA1: Courts must give petitioners an opportunity to respond to "procedural default" issues

Oakes v. US, No. 02-2640, holds that in a habeas petition, a court must give a petitioner notice and an opportunity to respond when it raises the issue of procedural default on its own (or “sua sponte” for those of you who don’t speak English).  The court concludes that: 1) procedural default is an affirmative defense that the government can waive (this is a matter of first impression for the first); but 2) in a “28 U.S.C. § 2255" case (a.k.a. collateral attacks on federal convictions), the court can raise it sua esponte; but 3) the court must give the petitioner an opportunity to respond.