Cite as: 517 U. S. 314 (1996)
Opinion of the Court
"Even if we were to assume, however, that Harris could avoid the application of McCleskey to bar his claim, we would not consider it on the merits. Whether his claim is framed as a habeas petition or as a [42 U. S. C.] § 1983 action, Harris seeks an equitable remedy." Id., at 653-654.
But, this statement, understood in context, does not mean that this Court authorized setting aside the Habeas Corpus Rules and refusing to consider a first habeas petition for generalized "equitable" reasons. As we explained above, Gomez was not a first habeas petition. Harris, after bringing four habeas petitions, argued that he still could raise a "method of execution" claim in a last-minute § 1983 action, to which habeas rules, like McCleskey's abuse of the writ doctrine, would not apply. The quoted sentence simply says that these rules would apply, even if § 1983 were also a proper vehicle for his "method of execution" claim, since Harris was still seeking equitable relief and the equitable rationale underlying McCleskey's abuse of the writ doctrine—avoiding, among other things, "last-minute attempts to manipulate the judicial process," 503 U. S., at 654; Mc-Cleskey, 499 U. S., at 484-485, 491-493—would apply to a suit challenging the method of execution, regardless of the technical form of action. Gomez did not, and did not purport to, work a significant change in the law applicable to the dismissal of first habeas petitions.
Fifth, the fact that Lonchar filed his petition at the "eleventh hour" does not lead to a different conclusion. We recognize that the Court in Gomez said that "[a] court may consider the last-minute nature of an application to stay execution in deciding whether to grant equitable relief." 503 U. S., at 654. And this Court has made similar statements in other cases. See, e. g., Sawyer v. Whitley, 505 U. S. 333, 341, n. 7 (1992) ( judge may resolve doubts against petitioners who "delay their filings until the last minute with a view to obtaining a stay because the district court will lack
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