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would be difficult to reconcile with the principle that this Court reads limitations on its jurisdiction narrowly. Pp. 379-381. 2. A federal court cannot recharacterize a pro se litigant's motion as a first § 2255 motion unless it first informs the litigant of its intent to recharacterize, warns the litigant that this recharacterization means that any subsequent § 2255 motion will be subject to the restrictions on "second or successive" motions, and provides the litigant an opportunity to withdraw the motion or to amend it so that it contains all the § 2255 claims he believes he has. If these warnings are not given, the motion cannot be considered to have become a § 2255 motion for purposes of applying to later motions the law's "second or successive" restrictions. Nine Circuits have placed such limits on recharacterization, and no one here contests the lawfulness of this judicially created requirement. Pp. 381-383. 3. Because the District Court failed to give the prescribed warnings, Castro's 1994 motion cannot be considered a first § 2255 motion and his 1997 motion cannot be considered a second or successive one. The Government argues that Castro's failure to appeal the 1994 recharacterization makes the recharacterization valid as a matter of "law of the case." And, according to the Government, since the 1994 recharacterization is valid, the 1997 § 2255 motion is Castro's second, not his first. This Court disagrees. The point of a warning is to help the pro se litigant understand not only (1) whether he should withdraw or amend his motion, but also (2) whether he should contest the recharacterization, say, on appeal. The lack of warning prevents his making an informed judgment as to both. The failure to appeal simply underscores the practical importance of providing the warning. Hence, an unwarned recharacterization cannot count as a § 2255 motion for purposes of the "second or successive" provision whether or not the unwarned pro se litigant takes an appeal. Even assuming that the law of the case doctrine applies here, the doctrine simply expresses common judicial practice; it does not limit the courts' power. Pp. 383-384.
290 F. 3d 1270, vacated and remanded.
Breyer, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, and Ginsburg, JJ., joined, and in which Scalia and Thomas, JJ., joined as to Parts I and II. Scalia, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Thomas, J., joined, post, p. 385.
Michael G. Frick, by appointment of the Court, post, p. 807, argued the cause and filed briefs for petitioner.
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