Judge Harold Baer
Bridges' May 11, 2001, life sentence was affirmed by Second Circuit on March 18, 2003. District court denied his April 9, 2004, application for 28 USC §2255 habeas relief, rejecting his claim of counsel's ineffectiveness for failing to pursue a plea bargain. Bridges provided no evidence that a plea bargain was offered. On March 4, 2010, the court denied Bridges' motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) to vacate its denial of his §2255 motion. District court denied Bridges' second, June 18, 2011, Rule 60(b)(6) motion to vacate denial of §2255 habeas relief, rejecting his claim that it erroneously applied a "procedural bar" to his ineffective assistance of counsel claim and that the Supreme Court's 2012 decision in Lafler v. Cooper was an "extraordinary circumstance" warranting reconsideration. Because it attacked his May 2001 conviction rather than the integrity of the habeas process, Bridges' June 18, 2011, motion was to be treated as a successive habeas petition. Discussing Gitten v. United States, the court notified Bridges of its intent to construe his June 18 motion as a successive habeas petition and transfer his case to the Second Circuit for certification unless Bridges indicates his desire to withdraw the motion, in writing, within 30 days.
