Frederick Pennington, Jr. v. Larry Norris, Director, Arkansas Department of Correction

BYE, Circuit Judge.

Frederick Pennington, Jr., brought a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 claiming, in part, that he had been improperly denied parole. He included a claim that he had been improperly denied statutory executive clemency and/or commutation of sentence, as well as several claims that he had raised in three prior petitions challenging his conviction. The district court dismissed the petition on the ground that it was “second or successive” and required authorization from this court, see 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b), before it could be filed in the district court.

Subsequent to the district…