11.   Petitioner then filed his first federal habeas petition claiming that his trial counsel was ineffective at both the guilt and penalty phases of trial.

12.   The act requires a habeas petitioner to obtain leave from the court of appeals before filing a second habeas petition in the district court.

13.   The District Court concluded that other claims pressed by Gray in his federal habeas petition were either procedurally barred or meritless.

14.   The Federal District Court denied his subsequent federal habeas petition on the merits, but the Court of Appeals dismissed the petition for want of jurisdiction.

15.   There are numerous instances of court-appointed lawyers missing crucial deadlines and filing habeas petitions that raise few if any legal arguments.

16.   Under ordinary circumstances, a capital defendant presumably will have sufficient time to request the appointment of counsel and file a formal habeas petition prior to his scheduled execution.

17.   We granted certiorari to determine when, absent a showing of cause and prejudice, a district court may consider the merits of an abusive or successive habeas petition.

18.   Whether or not we are bound by these restrictions, they certainly inform our consideration of original habeas petitions.

19.   The habeas petition raised many of the issues rejected by the state Supreme Court.