Cite as: 540 U. S. 375 (2003)
Opinion of the Court
Castro's second § 2255 motion (the 1994 motion being his first). And it dismissed the motion for failure to comply with one of § 2255's restrictive "second or successive" conditions (namely, Castro's failure to obtain the Court of Appeals' permission to file a "second or successive" motion). § 2255,
¶ 8. The District Court granted Castro a certificate to appeal its "second or successive" determination. § 2253(c)(1). (4) The Eleventh Circuit affirmed by a split (2-to-1) vote. 290 F. 3d 1270 (2002). The majority "suggested" and "urged" district courts in the future to "warn prisoners of the consequences of recharacterization and provide them with the opportunity to amend or dismiss their filings." Id., at 1273, 1274. But it held that the 1994 court's failure to do so did not legally undermine its recharacterization. Hence, Castro's current § 2255 motion was indeed his second habeas motion. Id., at 1274.
Other Circuits have taken a different approach. E. g., United States v. Palmer, 296 F. 3d 1135, 1145-1147 (CADC 2002) (announcing a rule requiring courts to notify pro se litigants prior to recharacterization and refusing to find the § 2255 motion before it "second or successive" since such notice was lacking). We consequently granted Castro's petition for certiorari.
II
We begin with a jurisdictional matter. We asked the parties to consider the relevance of a provision in the federal habeas corpus statutes that says that the
"grant or denial of an authorization by a court of appeals to file a second or successive application . . . shall not be the subject of a petition for . . . a writ of certiorari." 28 U. S. C. § 2244(b)(3)(E).
After receiving the parties' responses, we conclude that this provision does not bar our review here.
Castro's appeal to the Eleventh Circuit did not concern an "authorization . . . to file a second or successive application."
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