384
Opinion of the Court
ization valid as a matter of "law of the case." And, since the 1994 recharacterization is valid, the 1997 § 2255 motion is Castro's second, not his first.
We do not agree. No Circuit that has considered whether to treat a § 2255 motion as successive (based on a prior un-warned recharacterization) has found that the litigant's failure to challenge that recharacterization makes a difference. See Palmer, supra, at 1147; see also Henderson, 264 F. 3d, at 711-712; Raineri, 233 F. 3d, at 100; In re Shelton, supra, at 622. That is not surprising, for the very point of the 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 in respect to the latter just as it does in respect to the former. Indeed, an unwarned pro se litigant's failure to appeal a recharacterization 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 the unwarned pro se litigant does, or does not, take an appeal.
The law of the case doctrine cannot pose an insurmountable obstacle to our reaching this conclusion. Assuming for argument's sake that the doctrine applies here, it simply "expresses" common judicial "practice"; it does not "limit" the courts' power. See Messenger v. Anderson, 225 U. S. 436, 444 (1912) (Holmes, J.). It cannot prohibit a court from disregarding an earlier holding in an appropriate case which, for the reasons set forth, we find this case to be.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals is vacated, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
So ordered.
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