In re: Smith, No. 12-3425 (6th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseSmith filed a numerically second petition for 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 transferred the case to the Sixth Circuit, which vacated the transfer. A district court has jurisdiction to consider numerically second petitions that are not “second or successive” and needs no authorization. A district court may (and should) rule on newly ripe claims. The district court never ruled that Smith’s petition was successive and that it therefore lacked jurisdiction. There is no rule, statute, or case that permits a lower court to transfer a case to an appellate court when it is uncertain of its jurisdiction for an advisory ruling.
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