Danny Richard Rivers, Petitioner v. Eric Guerrero, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division

The Supreme Court held that any federal habeas petition filed after a district court has entered judgment on a first petition counts as a "second or successive" application subject to strict procedural limits, even if an appeal of the first petition is still pending. This ruling clarifies that the entry of judgment, rather than the conclusion of the appellate process, triggers the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act's restrictions on repeat filings.