No. 04-6432.Argued April 25, 2005--Decided June 23, 2005

Petitioner's federal habeas corpus petition was dismissed as time barred when the District Court concluded that the federal limitations period was not tolled while petitioner's motion for postconviction relief was pending in state court. After petitioner abandoned his attempt to seek review of the District Court's decision, this Court decided that a state postconviction relief petition can toll the federal statute of limitations even if, like petitioner's, the petition is ultimately dismissed as procedurally barred. Artuz v. Bennett, 531 U. S. 4. Petitioner filed a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6) motion for relief from the judgment, which the District Court denied. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial, holding that the Rule 60(b) motion was in substance a second or successive habeas petition, which under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), 28 U. S. C. §2244(b), cannot be filed without precertification by the court of appeals.

Held:

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