In re: Kenneth Smith v.

ORDER

Kenneth Smith filed in the district court a numerically second petition for a writ of habeas corpus that he claims is not “second or successive” within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b) because the claims included in the petition are newly ripe. The district court, uncertain whether the petition was “second or successive,” transferred the case to us to decide that question in the first instance. We decline to do so.

A district court has jurisdiction to consider numerically second petitions that are not “second or successive” petitions within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b) and needs…