Docket 23-1345
Rivers v. Guerrero
DecidedJun 12, 2025
9-0unanimous decision
Source: CourtListener.
Court rules a second habeas petition filed after district court judgment counts as "successive," even if first appeal is still pending
What it does
Once a district court enters a final judgment denying a first habeas petition, any new habeas filing made after that judgment is a "second or successive" application under AEDPA — regardless of whether an appeal of the first petition is still pending. This means the new filing must clear strict gatekeeping requirements, including first obtaining permission from a federal appeals court before the district court can even consider it. The ruling resolves a split among federal appeals courts that had disagreed on this question.
Who benefits
State governments and prison officials who defend against repeated federal habeas challenges, because new habeas filings are now subject to strict gatekeeping rules as soon as a district court enters judgment on the first petition.
Who is affected
People incarcerated in state prisons who discover new evidence or new legal arguments while their first federal habeas petition is on appeal, because they must now obtain special permission from a federal appeals court before a district court can consider their new claims.
Practical impact
State prisoners who obtain new evidence or identify new legal claims while their first federal habeas petition is on appeal must now seek authorization from a federal appeals court before a district court can hear those new claims — they cannot simply file a new petition in district court. In practice, this makes it significantly harder to bring newly discovered evidence before a federal court when a first habeas appeal is still in progress, because the new filing must satisfy AEDPA's narrow exceptions for successive petitions, such as showing the evidence would establish actual innocence.
Majority reasoning
The Court held that the key dividing line between a "first" and "second or successive" habeas petition is the entry of a final judgment by the district court — not the completion of any appeal. The majority reasoned that prior case law already established this principle: an amended petition filed before judgment is not successive, while a motion filed after judgment that adds new claims or attacks the court's prior ruling on the merits is treated as a successive petition. The Court distinguished its earlier ruling in Banister v. Davis, which had carved out a narrow exception for Rule 59(e) motions — those motions temporarily suspend the finality of a judgment to help produce a single final ruling, making them part of the original proceeding rather than a new one; Rivers's filing did not fit that narrow category. The majority also rejected Rivers's argument that drawing the line at the end of appellate review would serve AEDPA's goals, finding the opposite to be true: allowing new petitions to be filed freely during any pending appeal would encourage piecemeal litigation and could extend cases indefinitely. Finally, the Court found that pre-AEDPA historical practice was too inconsistent to support Rivers's preferred rule.
Constitutional question
Does a second federal habeas petition filed while the first petition's denial is still on appeal qualify as a "second or successive" application under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b), triggering strict procedural requirements that limit a court's ability to hear it?
Precedent changed
The ruling extends and clarifies Banister v. Davis, 590 U.S. 504 (2020), confirming that its narrow Rule 59(e) exception does not apply to second-in-time habeas filings made during a pending appeal, and that the general rule tying "second or successive" status to entry of final district court judgment governs.