Opinion ID: 1390030
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Claims Presented in a Prior Application are to be Dismissed

Text: First, any claim presented in a second or successive habeas corpus application under section 2254 that was presented in a prior application shall be dismissed. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(1). The only exception that has been recognized by the Ninth Circuit to the requirement of dismissal for previously presented clams is in extremely narrow circumstances where the claim presented in the previous petition was held to be premature. Babbitt v. Woodford, 177 F.3d 744, 745(9th Cir.1999) (citing Martinez-Villareal v. Stewart, 118 F.3d 628, 630 (9th Cir.1997), aff'd, 523 U.S. 637, 118 S.Ct. 1618, 140 L.Ed.2d 849 (1998)). A claim is not newly presented merely because the petitioner offers new factual bases in support of a legal claim that has already been raised. The Ninth Circuit held that it would not consider new factual grounds in support of the same legal claim that was previously presented, reasoning as follows: A ground is successive if the basic thrust or gravamen of the legal claim is the same, regardless of whether the basic claim is supported by new and different legal arguments. . . . Identical grounds may often be proved by different factual allegations. . . .  Id. (quoting United States v. Allen, 157 F.3d 661, 664(9th Cir.1998)).