Bowe v. United States · ¶165

Third, Mr. Bowe replies that there’s something else special about subsection (b)(1). Unlike §§2244(b)(3)(A) through (D), he says, subsection (b)(1) doesn’t just speak of “applications,” but “application[s] under section 2254.” (Emphasis added.) And that more specific reference, Mr. Bowe insists, means subsection (b)(1) cannot apply to federal prisoners proceeding under §2255. But this argument doesn’t move the needle either. If (as it must be and as no one seriously disputes) the term “application” in §2244 is best read as embracing a federal §2255 “motion,” then the phrase “application under section 2254” in §2244 should likewise be understood to embrace a “motion under section 2255.”

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