Willie Carter v. United States

Petitioner Willie Carter, pro se, moves pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(A) for an order authorizing the district court to consider a second or successive motion for a writ of habeas corpus brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. We write to clarify that the denial of an initial § 2255 motion on grounds of procedural default (ie., for failure to raise a claim on direct appeal, which failure is not excused by a showing of cause and prejudice) constitutes a disposition on the merits, such that any subsequent § 2255 motion will require authorization pursuant to §§ 2255 and 2244(b)(3)(A). Furthermore,…