Full opinion text
WITHDRAWAL OF REFERRAL TO MAGISTRATE JUDGE AND MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING RESPONDENT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT BENNETT, Chief Judge. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. WITHDRAWAL OF REFERRAL. 05 t-H II.RULING ON RESPONDENT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT 05 tH A. Background .. 05 r-4 B. Legal Analgsis tH 03 1. Standards for summary judgment .1121 2. Timeliness of federal habeas corpus petitions.1122 a. The limitations period.1122 b. ’’Tolling” of the limitations period.1123 3. The meaning of “a properly filed application” .1124 a. Rules of statutory interpretation.1124 b. Plain meaning and ambiguity.1125 c. Legislative history.1127 d. Purpose and policy.1127 i. Limited inquiries into state law in the interest of comity_1128 ii. Deeper inquiries into state law in the interest of comity.1131 iii.”A properly filed application” in light of AEDP A’s purpose and policy.1138 4. Was Rouse’s state post-conviction relief application “properly filed”? .1142 III. CONCLUSION.1144 When is a state prisoner’s state post-conviction relief application “properly filed” within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2), such that it tolls the time for the prisoner to file a federal petition for habeas corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254? That question is squarely presented here, where the respondent contends that the petitioner’s state post-conviction relief application was not “properly filed,” and therefore cannot make the present action timely, because the state post-conviction relief action was ultimately dismissed pursuant to Iowa Code § 822.8. That state code provision bars claims for post-conviction relief that were already fully litigated or not preserved on direct appeal. The petitioner contends, however, that his post-conviction relief application was “properly filed,” and thus tolled the time for his federal habeas corpus action, because it complied with state procedural requirements governing time and place of filing. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has not determined the meaning of “a properly filed application” in § 2244(d)(2) and the Circuit Courts of Appeals to address the question are split on the appropriate interpretation. This court must therefore make its own best determination of the question. I. WITHDRAWAL OF REFERRAL However, before addressing the difficult question of the meaning of “a properly filed application” for state post-conviction relief in § 2244(d)(2), the court must first address its prior referral of this action to a magistrate judge. By order dated November 9, 1999, the undersigned referred this petition for habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, in its entirety, to United States Magistrate Judge Paul A. Zoss pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B). However, the court finds that it is now appropriate to withdraw that referral. Therefore, the November 9, 1999, referral of this matter to the magistrate judge will be withdrawn and the undersigned will rule upon the respondent’s pending motion for summary judgment. II. RULING ON RESPONDENT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT A. Background Petitioner Howard Dean Rouse filed his petition for habeas corpus relief in this action on April 6, 1999. In that petition, Rouse seeks relief, on various grounds, from his conviction of second-degree murder on November 13, 1986, following a bench trial. Rouse was sentenced to imprisonment for not more than fifty years. The Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed Rouse’s conviction in an unpublished decision on December 22, 1988. See State v. Rouse, 442 N.W.2d 279 (Iowa Ct.App.1988) (table op.). The Iowa Supreme Court declined further review and procedendo issued on March 10, 1989. The United States Supreme Court denied Rouse’s petition for a writ of certiorari on October 2, 1989. See Rouse v. Iowa, 493 U.S. 827, 110 S.Ct. 93, 107 L.Ed.2d 58 (1989). Thereafter, Rouse filed an application for state post-conviction relief on or about April 6, 1990, and a supplemental application on April 2, 1993. On May 11, 1996, the respondent moved for summary judgment on Rouse’s post-conviction relief application on the ground that the application was precluded by Iowa Code § 822.8. Specifically, the respondent argued that two of the issues asserted in the post-conviction relief action had been fully litigated on direct appeal, while the rest of the issues had never been raised on direct appeal. The Iowa District Court for Woodbury County granted the respondent’s motion for summary judgment on March 11, 1997. The Iowa District Court concluded that two of the issues raised in the post-conviction relief application were indeed fully litigated on direct appeal, and three others were not raised on direct appeal, so that Rouse was precluded from raising any of these issues in a post-conviction relief proceeding. However, the court concluded that, even if it could consider the merits of these contentions, it would conclude that Rouse’s claims were without merit. Rouse’s counsel in the post-conviction relief action filed a notice of appeal on April 3, 1997, and Rouse filed his own pro se notice of appeal on April 10, 1997. In an unreported decision filed on October 29, 1998, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of the respondent in Rouse’s post-conviction relief action, specifically finding that the claims were barred pursuant to Iowa Code § 822.8 and that Rouse had failed to show “cause” and “prejudice,” in the form of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, for the failure to raise the unlitigated claims on direct appeal. See Rouse v. State, No. 8-451/97-0626, slip op. at 3-4 (Iowa Ct.App. Oct. 29, 1998). The Iowa Supreme Court denied Rouse’s request for further review on January 4, 1999. Rouse’s present federal action for habe-as corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 followed on April 6, 1999. After an extension of time to do so, the respondent answered Rouse’s petition for habeas corpus relief on June 25,1999. On November 5, 1999, prior to the date on which Rouse’s opening brief was due, the respondent moved for summary judgment or partial summary judgment in this action. The respondent asserts that Rouse’s habeas corpus action is time-barred, because his post-conviction relief application was “improperly filed” under Iowa Code § 822.8, and thus did not toll the statute of limitations for this action. The respondent also asserts that, even if this action is not time-barred, it involves a “mixed petition” including improperly exhausted and defaulted claims, so that it should be dismissed. Finally, the respondent contends that Rouse’s claims fail on the merits. Rouse resisted the respondent’s motion for summary judgment in this action on February 22, 2000. Rouse contends that this habeas corpus action is timely, because the ultimate disposition of his state post-conviction relief application is not relevant to whether that action was “properly filed” so as to toll the limitations period for the present action. Rather, he contends that the state post-conviction relief action tolled the limitations period for the present action, because it was “properly filed” in terms of procedural requirements such as time and place of filing. He also contends that, if his federal habeas petition is “mixed,” he should be allowed to proceed on his properly exhausted claim or claims or to attempt to exhaust all of his claims. In his resistance to the motion for summary judgment, Rouse argues the merits of only one claim' — 'the one he believes is “most likely to succeed on the merits,” his contention that certain statements made to law enforcement officials that were used to impeach him were involuntary — although he contends he is not thereby waiving any other claims. In a reply brief filed March 3, 2000, the respondent attempts to distinguish the authority upon which Rouse relies for the proposition that his post-conviction relief action was “properly filed.” The respondent contends that those decisions actually did not address the precise question at issue here, but turned on issues of whether the post-conviction relief applications were “pending” through various stages of their appeals, issues the respondent contends have been resolved in the same way by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Moreover, the respondent presses his argument that Rouse’s non-compliance with Iowa Code § 822.8 is an adequate and independent state law ground for denial of Rouse’s claims, and hence renders Rouse’s claims unreviewable in his federal habeas petition. B. Legal Analysis 1. Standards for summary judgment This court has considered in some detail the standards applicable to motions for summary judgment pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 in a number of prior decisions. See, e.g., Swanson v. Van Otterloo, 993 F.Supp. 1224, 1230-31 (N.D.Iowa 1998); Dirks v. J.C. Robinson Seed Co., 980 F.Supp. 1303, 1305-07 (N.D.Iowa 1997); Laird v. Stilwill, 969 F.Supp. 1167, 1172-74 (N.D.Iowa 1997); Rural Water Sys. # 1 v. City of Sioux Ctr., 967 F.Supp. 1483, 1499-1501 (N.D.Iowa 1997), aff'd in pertinent part, 202 F.3d 1035 (8th Cir.2000); Tralon Corp. v. Cedarapids, Inc., 966 F.Supp. 812, 817-18 (N.D.Iowa 1997), aff'd, 205 F.3d 1347, 2000 WL 84400 (8th Cir.2000) (Table op.); Security State Bank v. Firstar Bank Milwaukee, N.A., 965 F.Supp. 1237, 1239-40 (N.D.Iowa 1997); Lockhart v. Cedar Rapids Community Sch. Dist., 963 F.Supp. 805 (N.D.Iowa 1997). Thus, the court will not consider those standards in detail here. Suffice it to say that Rule 56 itself provides, in pertinent part, as follows: Rule 56. Summary Judgment (b) For Defending Party. A party against whom a claim ... is asserted ... may, at any time, move for summary judgment in the party’s favor as to all or any part thereof. (c) Motions and Proceedings Thereon.... The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(b) & (c) (emphasis added). Applying these standards, the trial judge’s function at the summary judgment stage of the proceedings is not to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter, but to determine whether there are genuine issues for trial. Quick v. Donaldson Co., 90 F.3d 1372, 1376-77 (8th Cir.1996); Johnson v. Enron Corp., 906 F.2d 1234, 1237 (8th Cir.1990). An issue of material fact is genuine if it has a real basis in the record. Hartnagel v. Norman, 953 F.2d 394 (8th Cir.1992) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). As to whether a factual dispute is “material,” the Supreme Court has explained, “Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Beyerbach v. Sears, 49 F.3d 1324, 1326 (8th Cir.1995); Hartnagel, 953 F.2d at 394. If a party fails to make a sufficient showing of an essential element of a claim with respect to which that party has the burden of proof, then the opposing party is “entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); In re Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Implants Prod. Liab. Litig., 113 F.3d 1484, 1492 (8th Cir.1997). In reviewing the record, the court must view all the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and give that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the facts. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348; Quick, 90 F.3d at 1377 (same). These same standards apply to federal habeas coipus actions. See Lamp v. Iowa, 122 F.3d 1100, 1104 (8th Cir.1997) (applying the same standards to a motion for summary judgment in a habeas corpus action, citing Schrier v. Halford, 60 F.3d 1309, 1310 (8th Cir.1995), which in turn cites Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c) and Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-23,106 S.Ct. 2548). Moreover, this court has recognized that primarily legal issues, and more particularly the legal issue of statutory interpretation, which is central to the respondent’s motion for summary judgment, are particularly appropriate for adjudication on a motion for summary judgment. See Johnson v. Land O’ Lakes, 18 F.Supp.2d 985, 993-94 (N.D.Iowa 1998); Prudential Ins. Co. of Am. v. Rand & Reed Powers Partnership, 972 F.Supp. 1194, 1202-03 (N.D.Iowa 1997), aff'd, 141 F.3d 834 (8th Cir.1998). Therefore, with these standards in mind, the court turns to consideration of the respondent’s motion for summary judgment on Rouse’s federal habeas corpus petition. 2. Timeliness of federal habeas corpus petitions a. The limitations period Under the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), petitions for habeas corpus relief are subject to a one-year statute of limitations as provided in 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1). “By the terms of § 2244(d)(1), the one-year limitation period begins to run on one of several possible dates, including the date on which the state court judgment against the petitioner became final.” Ford v. Bowersox, 178 F.3d 522, 523 (8th Cir.1999). Where the petitioner’s judgment became final before the effective date of the AEDPA on April 24, 1996, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has adopted a one-year “grace” period, which ended on April 24, 1997, for the filing of habeas petitions. See Peterson v. Gammon, 200 F.3d 1202, 1204 (8th Cir.2000); Mills v. Norris, 187 F.3d 881, 882 (8th Cir.1999); Ford, 178 F.3d at 523; Moore v. United States, 173 F.3d 1131, 1135-36 (8th Cir.1999); Nichols v. Bowersox, 172 F.3d 1068, 1073 (8th Cir.1999) (en banc). Moreover, In Nichols v. Bowersox, 172 F.3d 1068, 1073 (8th Cir.1999) (en banc), [the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals] held that time before the effective date of AEDPA, April 24, 1996, is not counted in computing the one-year period of limitation. Prisoners whose judgments of conviction became final before the effective date of AEDPA are given a one-year period after that date, or until April 24, 1997, plus any additional periods during which the statute is tolled. Peterson, 200 F.3d at 1204. Here, Rouse’s conviction became “final” either on March 10, 1989, when the Iowa Supreme Court declined further review of his conviction and procedendo issued, or possibly as late as October 2, 1989, the date on which the United States Supreme Court denied Rouse’s petition for a writ of certiorari. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A) (the limitations period runs from the date the state judgment becomes final upon conclusion of direct review). Either date is well before the effective date of the AEDPA, April '24, 1996. Thus, Rouse could have filed a timely habeas petition within the one-year “grace” limitations period, from the effective date of the AED-PA until April 24, 1997. See Peterson, 200 F.3d at 1204; Mills, 187 F.3d at 882; Ford, 178 F.3d at 523; Moore, 173 F.3d at 1135-36; Nichols, 172 F.3d at 1073. This he did not do. Consequently, Rouse’s petition for habeas corpus relief is only timely if the limitations period was tolled for all but a period of less than one year between April 24, 1996, and April 6, 1999, the date on which the petition in this action was filed by application of the “prison mailbox” rule to this habeas action. See Nichols, 172 F.3d at 1077; note 1, supra. b. “Tolling” of the limitations period As the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals indicated in Peterson, the limitations period for federal habeas actions can be “tolled.” Peterson, 200 F.3d at 1204 (“Prisoners whose judgments of conviction became final before the effective date of AEDPA are given a one-year period after that date, or until April 24, 1997, plus any additional periods during which the statute is tolled.”). The applicable “tolling” provision is § 2244(d), which provides that “[t]he time during which a properly filed application for State post-conviction or other collateral review with respect to the pertinent judgment or claim is pending shall not be counted toward any period of limitation under this subsection.” 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2) (emphasis added); Mills, 187 F.3d at 882. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that “[t]he tolling period under § 2244(d)(2) includes time spent on an unsuccessful appeal of the denial of state postconviction relief.” Mills, 187 F.3d at 882. The limitations period is also “tolled” during the period after which a notice of appeal is filed until the expiration of the time to perfect the appeal has run, even if the petitioner fails to perfect that appeal. Id. at 884 (finding that such a reading “harmonizes” the “tolling” provision of § 2244(d)(2) with the requirement in 28 U.S.C. § 2254(c) that petitioners “exhaust” state remedies). Furthermore, a post-conviction relief proceeding is “pending” during “the entire period during which a notice of appeal from a denial of post-conviction review would be timely, assuming such a notice was in fact filed,” as well as during the time the appeal is actually on file. Peterson, 200 F.3d at 1204-05. In short, post-conviction relief actions filed before or during the limitations period for habeas corpus actions are “pending,” and the limitations period is “tolled,” within the meaning of § 2244(d)(2) during the time “a properly filed” post-convietion relief action is before the district court, during the time for filing of a notice of appeal and during the time the petitioner has to perfect the appeal in such a “properly filed” action, if the petitioner actually files a notice of appeal, and during the appeal itself. However, where a petitioner whose conviction was final before the effective date of the AEDPA files an application for post-conviction relief in state court only after the expiration of the one-year limitations “grace” period, “the claims he raised in that [post-conviction relief action] were not exhausted in time to raise them in a federal habeas action.” Jackson v. Dormire, 180 F.3d 919, 920 (8th Cir.1999) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d), and Moore, 173 F.3d at 1135). Thus, although § 2244(d)(2) normally tolls the limitations period during the pendency of state post-conviction relief proceedings, the limitations period is not tolled during the pendency of post-conviction relief proceedings begun after the limitations “grace” period expired on April 24, 1997. Id. Here, the respondent contends that Rouse’s state post-conviction relief action, filed on or about April 6, 1990, and unfavorably concluded on January 4, 1998, was not “properly filed” within the meaning of § 2244(d)(2), so that it cannot “toll” the deadline for filing his federal habeas corpus action past April 24,1997, even though this action was actually filed on April 6, 1999, within one year of the conclusion of Rouse’s state post-conviction relief action. Thus, the court must determine whether Rouse’s state post-conviction relief action was “properly filed” within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2), where the meaning of “a properly filed application” under the statute is a question on which the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is silent and the Circuit Courts of Appeals to consider the question are split. 3. The meaning of “a properly filed application” a. Rules of statutory interpretation Obviously, the first place to look for the correct interpretation of terms in the context of a particular statute is in the statute itself or the act in which the terms are used, to see if the statute or act provides a specific definition. Iowa Utilities Bd. v. Federal Communications Comm’n, 219 F.3d 744, 751 (8th Cir.2000) (considering whether “Congress has ... spoken directly on the meaning of the word in this context”). However, in the absence of a statutory definition, this court has explained the applicable rules of statutory interpretation as follows: “The task of resolving the dispute over the meaning of [a statute] begins where all such inquiries must begin: with the language of the statute itself.” United States v. Ron Pair Enters., Inc., 489 U.S. 235, 241, 109 S.Ct. 1026, 103 L.Ed.2d 290 (1989); Chevron U.S.A v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 842-43, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984); United States v. Union Elec. Co., 64 F.3d 1152, 1165 (8th Cir.1995) (citing Ron Pair); United States ex rel. Harlan v. Bacon, 21 F.3d 209, 210 (8th Cir.1994) (“When construing a statute, we are obliged to look first to the plain meaning of the words employed by the legislature ...,” citing Chevron, 467 U.S. at 842-43, 104 S.Ct. 2778); United States v. Manthei, 979 F.2d 124, 126 (8th Cir.1992) (“When interpreting statutory language, the court must first look to the plain meaning of the language,” citing North Dakota v. United States, 460 U.S. 300, 312-13, 103 S.Ct. 1095, 75 L.Ed.2d 77 (1983)). The Supreme Court describes this rule as the “one, cardinal canon before all others.” Connecticut Nat’l Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S. 249, 253, 112 S.Ct. 1146, 117 L.Ed.2d 391 (1992). Thus, “courts must presume that a legislature says in a statute what it means and means in a statute what it says there: Ron Pair, 489 U.S. at 241-42, 109 S.Ct. 1026; United States v. Goldenberg, 168 U.S. 95, 102-03, 18 S.Ct. 3, 42 L.Ed. 394 (1897); Oneale v. Thornton, 6 Cranch 53, 68, 3 L.Ed. 150 (1810)). When the language of the statute is plain, the inquiry also ends with the language of the statute, for in such instances “the sole function of the courts is to enforce [the statute] according to its terms.” Ron Pair, 489 U.S. at 241, 109 S.Ct. 1026 (quoting Caminetti v. United States, 242 U.S. 470, 485, 37 S.Ct. 192, 61 L.Ed. 442 (1917)); Union Elec., 64 F.3d at 1165 (quoting Ron Pair); Melahn v. Pennock Ins., Inc., 965 F.2d 1497, 1502 (8th Cir.1992) (plain meaning of a statute governs over ambiguous legislative history, citing Ron Pair Enterprises). Id. (citing Hoffman v. Cargill, Inc., 59 F.Supp.2d 861, 871 n. 6 (N.D.Iowa 1999); accord Nebraska v. Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Comm’n, 207 F.3d 1021, 1023 (8th Cir.2000) (“When the statutory language provides a clear answer, the analysis ends. See Hughes Aircraft Co. v. Jacobson, 525 U.S. 432, 438, 119 S.Ct. 755, 142 L.Ed.2d 881 (1999).”); Braswell v. City of El Dorado, Ark., 187 F.3d 954, 958 (8th Cir.1999) (“In statutory interpretation questions, we start with the plain language of the statute.”); United States v. Smith, 171 F.3d 617, 620 (8th Cir.1999) (“In construing a statute, we look first to the plain meaning of the words of the statute. See Salinas v. United States, 522 U.S. 52, 118 S.Ct. 469, 474, 139 L.Ed.2d 352 (1997).”). This “plain language” or “plain meaning” rule of interpretation is not limited to the meaning of individual terms; rather, “[s]uch an inquiry requires examining the text of the statute as a whole by considering its context, ‘object, and policy.’ ” Harmon Indus., Inc. v. Browner, 191 F.3d 894, 899 (8th Cir.1999) (quoting Pelofsky v. Wallace, 102 F.3d 350, 353 (8th Cir.1996)). So much for unambiguous statutes. If a statute is ambiguous, the court must look to other aids to determine congressional intent, including legislative history, see Smith, 171 F.3d at 620, and “ ‘the purpose, the subject matter and the condition of affairs which led to its enactment.’ ” Norwest Bank of North Dakota, N.A. v. Doth, 159 F.3d 328, 333 (8th Cir.1998) (quoting United States v. S.A., 129 F.3d 995, 998 (8th Cir.1997), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1011, 118 S.Ct. 1200, 140 L.Ed.2d 329 (1998)); see generally Adler v. I & M Rail Link, L.L.C., 13 F.Supp.2d 912, 931 n. 10 (N.D.Iowa 1998) (after examining the plain meaning of a statute, “‘if doubts remain, [the court] must resolve them in the light, not only of the policy intended to be served by the enactment, but, as well, by all other available aids to construction’ ”) (quoting Bacon, 21 F.3d at 210-11). A statute is ambiguous if it is susceptible of more than one reasonable interpretation. See, e.g., National Rifle Ass’n of Am., Inc. v. Reno, 216 F.3d 122, 130 (D.C.Cir.2000) (citing United States v. Nofziger, 878 F.2d 442, 446-47 (D.C.Cir.1989), for the proposition that a statute is ambiguous if it can be read in more than one way); C & H Nationwide, Inc. v. Norwest Bank Texas, N.A., 208 F.3d 490, 495 (5th Cir.2000) (observing that, as a matter of statutory interpretation of a federal statute, “ ‘[a] statute is ambiguous if it is susceptible of more than one accepted meaning’ ”) (quoting United Servs. Auto. Ass’n v. Perry, 102 F.3d 144, 146 (5th Cir.1996)); In re Lan Assocs. XI, L.P., 192 F.3d 109, 116 (3d Cir.1999) (differing reasonable interpretations render a statute ambiguous). Thus, “ ‘[w]hen the meaning of a statute is questionable, it should be given a sensible construction and construed to effectuate the underlying purposes of the law.’ ” Doth, 159 F.3d at 333 (quoting S.A., 129 F.3d at 998). b. Plain meaning and ambiguity As noted above, the “tolling” provision in question provides as follows: “The time during which a properly filed application for State post-conviction or other collateral review with respect to the pertinent judgment or claim is pending shall not be counted toward any period of limitation under this subsection.” 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2) (emphasis added). Unfortunately, Congress provided no statutory definition of “a properly filed application” for state post-conviction relief in either § 2244 or elsewhere in the AEDPA. See Iowa Utilities Bd., 219 F.3d at 751 (looking to see if Congress has defined the term in context). The plain meaning of the provision, Hoffman, 59 F.Supp.2d at 871 n. 6 (statutory interpretation begins with the “plain meaning”), clearly indicates that something more than “filing” of any post-conviction relief application is required to stop the clock on the timeliness of a federal habeas corpus action; what is required is “a properly filed application.” 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2) (emphasis added). The court must assume that, by including the “properly” limitation, Congress intended to limit the “tolling” effect of state post-conviction relief proceedings only to certain actions. Hoffman, 59 F.Supp.2d at 871 n. 6 (“ ‘[C]ourts must presume that a legislature says in a statute what it means and means in a statute what it says there.’ ”) (quoting Connecticut Nat’l Bank, 503 U.S. at 253, 112 S.Ct. 1146). What is so troublesome, however, is that the word “properly,” like the word “cost,” “ ‘is a chameleon, capable of taking on different meanings, and shades of meaning, depending on the subject matter and the circumstances of each particular usage.’ ” Iowa Utilities Bd., 219 F.3d at 751 (quoting Strickland v. Commissioner, Maine Dept. of Human Servs., 48 F.3d 12, 19 (1st Cir.1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 850, 116 S.Ct. 145, 133 L.Ed.2d 91 (1995)). Here, the context of “properly” in the key phrase, and indeed, the troublesome phrase in the context of the entire sentence constituting § 2244(d)(2), offer only slight clarification. See Hannon Indus., Inc., 191 F.3d at 899 (“[The plain language] inquiry requires examining the text of the statute as a whole by considering its context, ‘object, and policy.’ ”) (quoting Pe-lofsky, 102 F.3d at 353). What must be “properly filed,” according to § 2244(d)(2), taken as a whole, is an “application for State post-conviction or other collateral review with respect to the pertinent judgment or claim.” 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2) (emphasis added). In context, because reference is made to state proceedings attacking what must necessarily be a judgment of conviction in state court or asserting a claim that necessarily arose in the course of state criminal proceedings, it follows that the determination of whether the post-conviction relief application is “properly filed” would be by reference to state law. Moreover, the “object and policy” of the provision, and the object and policy of § 2244(d) more generally, as evinced in plain language, are to ensure that state courts entertain claims before those claims are asserted in federal habeas coi'pus proceedings. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)(A) & (B) (providing that the limitations period for the federal action does not begin to run until the state proceedings for conviction and review are completed or the time for such review has expired, or until an impediment to a federal case arising from state action has been removed); id. at § 2244(d)(2) (excluding from the limitations period for the federal action such time as state post-conviction relief actions are pending). Thus, examining the “plain meaning” of the phrase in question in light of the context, object, and policy of the statute in which the phrase appears, whether or not a post-conviction relief application is “properly filed” is plainly a matter of state law. Nevertheless, the court must conclude that the phrase “a properly filed application” for post-conviction relief is reasonably susceptible of both constructions offered by the parties here, and hence is ambiguous. See, e.g., National Rifle Ass’n of Am., Inc., 216 F.3d at 131 (defining ambiguity of a federal statute in a similar way); C & H Nationwide, Inc., 208 F.3d at 495 (same); In re Lan Assocs. XI, L.P., 192 F.3d at 116 (same). Both parties rely on state law for the interpretation of whether the post-conviction relief application is “properly filed” — they differ on how deeply the federal court may inquire into state law. The petitioner contends that the federal court may look no deeper than state procedural requirements governing time and place of filing, while the respondent asserts that the federal court may also consider the propriety of the application in light of state statutes governing (or limiting) the nature of claims that may be asserted in post-conviction relief proceedings, and, probing even deeper, contends that the federal court must examine whether the state district and appellate courts entertaining the petitioner’s specific post-conviction relief proceeding ultimately dismissed the action as procedurally barred in some way. Neither approach is patently unreasonable in light of, or plainly foreclosed by, the language, context, object, or policy of the statute. See Harmon Indus., Inc., 191 F.3d at 899 (“plain meaning” should be determined in light of context, object, and policy). Thus, the court concludes that it must look to other aids to determine the correct interpretation of “a properly filed application” in § 2244(d)(2). See Smith, 171 F.3d at 620 (permitting the court to turn to other aids to construction when the statutory language is ambiguous); Doth, 159 F.3d at 333 (same); Adler, 13 F.Supp.2d at 931 n. 10 (same). c. Legislative history The first such “other aid” to statutory construction is legislative history. See Smith, 171 F.3d at 620. However, this court has found no snippet of legislative history that specifically addresses the meaning of “a properly filed application” in the congressional record leading to the enactment of § 2244(d) as part of the AEDPA, nor has any federal court to consider the question found legislative history that was helpful. See, e.g., Weekley v. Moore, 204 F.3d 1083, 1085 (11th Cir.2000) (“The phrase ‘properly filed application’ is not defined in the AEDPA itself and the legislative history sheds little light on its meaning.”); Webster v. Moore, 199 F.3d 1256, 1258 (11th Cir.2000) (“The legislative history of the provision offers no help in evaluating these [conflicting] interpretations.”), petition for cert. filed, (March 20, 2000) (No. 99-8819); Villegas v. Johnson, 184 F.3d 467, 470 (5th Cir.1999) (“Neither AEDPA nor its legislative history explains which state filings qualify as properly filed applications.”). Thus, the court must look elsewhere for guidance. d. Purpose and policy When the “plain meaning” of a statute is ambiguous, and legislative history is unhelpful, the next step is to attempt to make sense of a statute’s language in light of the statute’s purpose and policy. See generally Adler, 13 F.Supp.2d at 931 n. 10 (after examining the plain meaning of a statute, “ ‘if doubts remain, [the court] must resolve them in the light, not only of the policy intended to be served by the enactment, but, as well, by all other available aids to construction’”) (quoting Bacon, 21 F.3d at 210-11). Thus, the court must consider “ ‘the purpose, the subject matter and the condition of affairs which led to [the statute’s] enactment’ ” so that the statute is “ ‘given a sensible construction and construed to effectuate the underlying purposes of the law.’” Doth, 159 F.3d at 333 (quoting S.A., 129 F.3d at 998). It is on this step in statutory interpretation that guidance from decisions of other courts is perhaps most helpful, even where, as here, the decisions of the Circuit Courts of Appeals to consider the question indicate a split as definite, apparently irreconcilable, and most likely outcome-determinative, as that between the parties in this case on the meaning of “a properly filed application.” Although the federal appellate courts are split on the meaning of the provision, there is nevertheless some common ground in their interpretive processes, as demonstrated by the discussion of pertinent cases infra. First, these courts all agree with this court’s conclusion, based on the “plain meaning” of § 2244(d)(2), that whether or not a state post-conviction relief application is “properly filed” is a question of state law. Second, they all agree that the purposes and policies of the AED-PA that must be served by the interpretation of § 2244(d)(2), which relies on state law for the meaning of a “properly filed application,” include the principles of “comity,” “exhaustion,” and “procedural default.” They part company, however, on what interpretation of § 2244(d)(2) best serves these purposes and polices. The fundamental difference between the interpretations is how deep an inquiry into “state law” is permissible, in the interest of “comity,” to determine whether a state post-conviction relief application is “properly filed” within the meaning of § 2244(d)(2), and hence capable of tolling the deadline for the filing of a federal habeas petition. i. Limited inquiries into state law in the interest of comity. A number of Circuit Courts of Appeals favor something like the position asserted by the petitioner here, because they permit only a very limited inquiry into whether a state post-conviction relief application complies with state procedural requirements to determine whether the application is “properly filed.” This group includes the Courts of Appeals of the Second, Third, Fifth, and Tenth Circuits. For example, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the first federal appellate court to reach the question, concluded that the interpretation of “a properly filed application” is informed by “principles of comity,” which led that court to the conclusion that only a limited inquiry was permissible. Lovasz v. Vaughn, 134 F.3d 146, 148 (3d Cir.1998). The court explained, In our federal system, “the States should have the first opportunity to address and correct alleged violations of state prisoner’s federal rights.” Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 731, 111 S.Ct 2546, 2555, 115 L.Ed.2d 640 (1991). Such respect for the states has given rise to the well-established rule that a federal court should not find a state prisoner’s claims procedurally barred from federal habeas review unless state law “clearly foreclose[s]” review of the claims. Toulson v. Beyer, 987 F.2d 984, 987 (3d Cir.1993); see Banks v. Horn, 126 F.3d 206, 211 (3d Cir.1997); Doctor v. Walters, 96 F.3d 675, 683 (3d Cir.1996). Moreover, in enacting AEDPA, of which § 2244(d) is a part, Congress intended to “reduce federal intrusion into state criminal proceedings.” Banks, 126 F.3d at 213. Thus, if a state allows petitioners to file second or subsequent petitions for post-conviction relief, federal courts should not undermine the state’s decision by refusing to toll the one-year period of limitation of § 2244(d)(1) where a second or subsequent petition is pending in the state court system. Nor should we discourage petitioners from exhausting all their claims in state court, even by means of a second or subsequent petition for post-conviction relief where permissible under state law, before seeking habeas review in federal court. We believe that “a properly filed application” is one submitted according to the state’s procedural requirements, such as the rules governing the time and place of filing. Lovasz, 134 F.3d at 148. Thus, recognizing that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had imposed strict limitations on “second or subsequent” post-conviction relief applications, but sometimes allowed, and even granted relief on, such applications, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that even the filing of a “second or subsequent” post-conviction relief application should toll the limitations period for federal habeas review. Id. at 149. Moreover, the court concluded that “in considering whether a petition for post-conviction relief is properly filed, district courts should not inquire into its merits.” Id. A rule requiring an inquiry into the merits, the court concluded, would give rise to a conundrum: Does a second or subsequent state petition become “improperly filed” when the district court determines that it is “merit-less,” then become “properly filed” when an appellate court reverses and remands, only to lose that status again when the district court reaches and rules “on the merits” of the action unfavorably to the petitioner? Id. (citing Hughes v. Irvin, 967 F.Supp. 775, 779 (E.D.N.Y.1997), as exemplifying such a conundrum). Moreover, the court noted that “Congress chose the phrase ‘a properly filed application,’ one into which we do not read any requirement that the application be non-frivolous.” Id. (emphasis in the original). The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals permits an even more limited inquiry than the Third, even though the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals began its seminal decision on the interpretation issue, Villegas v. Johnson, 184 F.3d 467 (5th Cir.1999), by following in the footsteps of the Lovasz decision. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals explained its interpretation, and the rationale for it, as follows: The majority of courts that have considered this issue have concluded that “ ‘a properly filed application’ is one submitted according to the state’s procedural requirements, such as the rules governing notice and the time and place of filing.” Lovasz v. Vaughn, 134 F.3d 146, 148 (3d Cir.1998); accord, e.g., Souch v. Harkins, 21 F.Supp.2d 1083 (D.Ariz.1998); Galindo v. Johnson, 19 F.Supp.2d 697 (W.D.Tex.1998); Ellis v. Johnson, 11 F.Supp.2d 695 (N.D.Tex.1998); Hughes v. Irvin, 967 F.Supp. 775 (E.D.N.Y.1997). A handful of district courts have found instead that a properly filed application is one that is not frivolous, but these courts have offered little analysis to support their conclusion that the phrase “properly filed” connotes some measure of merit. See Washington v. Gramley, No. 97 C 3270, 1998 WL 171827 (N.D.Ill. Apr. 10, 1998); Hill v. Keane, 984 F.Supp. 157 (E.D.N.Y.1997); Valentine v. Senkowski, 966 F.Supp. 239 (S.D.N.Y.1997). We agree with the majority line of cases and, based on principles of statutory construction and concerns regarding comity and exhaustion, we hold that a “properly filed application” for § 22kk(d)(2) purposes is one that conforms with a state’s applicable procedural filing requirements. Villegas, 184 F.3d at 469-70 (emphasis added). The court then defined “procedural filing requirements” as “those prerequisites that must be satisfied before a state court will allow a petition to be filed and accorded some level of judicial review. Such filing requirements are not limited to the rules governing notice and the time and place of filing and may include, for example, a requirement that the petitioner obtain judicial authorization for the filing.” Id. at 470 n. 2. Like the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Fifth rejected the notion that whether an application was “properly filed” should involve any inquiry into the “merits,” but its definition of “merits” appears to include such things as state limitations on successive petitions and procedurally defaulted claims: The court rejected the argument that a second or successive state application or one containing procedurally barred claims “is per se improperly filed,” because “[sjection 2244(d)(2) explicitly requires only that a state application be properly filed,” and “[h]ad Congress intended to condition tolling on a state court finding of merit, it could have drafted § 2244(d)(2) to exclude frivolous petitions from its scope.”Id. at 470 (emphasis added). Since Congress had enacted the AED-PA in light of judge-made rules concerning procedural default and specifically dealt with successive petitions in § 2244(a)-(b), the failure to address successive state petitions or procedurally barred claims in § 2244(d)(2) “convincefd] [the court] all the more that [it] ought not to assume an overly broad meaning of ‘properly filed.’ ” Id. Finally, the court concluded that its reading of § 2244(d)(2) comported with principles of comity and exhaustion, because the AEDPA “evinces no congressional intent to embroil federal courts in problematic determinations of the merit of state court filings.” Id. at 471. The Villegas decision has had a healthy number of progeny in the Fifth Circuit. Recent examples include Hall v. Cain, 216 F.3d 518 (5th Cir.2000), in which the court reiterated the holding of Villegas that a state application is “properly filed” “regardless of whether it has merit, if it is ‘one submitted according to the state’s procedural requirements, such as the rules governing notice and the time and place of filing.’ ” Hall, 216 F.3d at 519 (quoting Villegas, 184 F.3d at 469). The court in Hall also reiterated the holding of an interim decision, Smith v. Ward, 209 F.3d 383 (5th Cir.2000), which “held that state habeas petitions submitted to Louisiana courts, even when dismissed as untimely without consideration of the merits, fell within the Villegas definition of ‘properly filed’ for tolling purposes,” because “ ‘Louisiana courts will accept a prisoner’s application for filing and review it to determine whether any of the statutory exceptions to untimely filing are applicable [and][i]f the untimely application does not fit within an exception, the state court will dismiss it.’ ” Id. (emphasis added) (quoting Smith, 209 F.3d at 384-85). Based on Villegas and Smith, the court in Hall held that state petitions dismissed pursuant to the Louisiana rule regarding repetitive petitions were nevertheless “properly filed,” because “courts review petitions to determine whether claims are repetitive and, if so, if there is a reason for such repetition before dismissing them.” Id. at 520. Thus, “the fact that the issues raised by Hall were ultimately determined to be repetitive and thus not subject to state habeas review is not relevant; they were ‘properly filed’ in accordance with Louisiana law because a Louisiana state habeas court would have to review them tó discern whether they actually were repetitive and thus not subject to review.” Id. Thus, under the Fifth Circuit definition, which is still more generous than the Third Circuit definition, even a state petition ultimately dismissed by the state court as “repetitive” or “untimely” is “properly filed” within the meaning of § 2244(d)(2), at least if the state court undertakes any sort of “review” to determine whether the petition is in fact “untimely” or “repetitive” or whether there is instead some excuse from these procedural failings. Id.; see also Dilworth v. Johnson, 215 F.3d 497, 500-01 (5th Cir.2000) (pursuant to Villegas and Smith, whether a state petition would have been dismissed as an “abuse of the writ” is not relevant to a determination of whether it is “properly filed” within the meaning of § 2244(d)(2), and even if the petition was filed in the wrong state court, Texas rules required the state court to transfer the action to the correct court, so that the petition was still “properly filed”; “[mjore-over, the state trial court did address the merits of his claim”); but see Williams v. Cain, 217 F.3d 303, 306-08 (5th Cir.2000) (concluding, in light of Villegas and Smith, that a clearly untimely state petition was not “properly filed” within the meaning of § 2244(d)(2)). Also in the camp with the Third and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeals are the Second and Tenth. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a state application is “properly filed” if it is “an application for state post-conviction relief recognized as such under governing state procedures.” Bennett v. Artuz, 199 F.3d 116, 123 (2d Cir.1999) (recognizing the split in the circuits, but citing Villegas, 184 F.3d at 472-73, and Lovasz, 134 F.3d at 148, in support of its conclusion that “merit” is irrelevant to whether the application is “properly filed”), cert. granted, — U.S. -, 120 S.Ct. 1669, 146 L.Ed.2d 479 (2000); but see Adeline v. Stinson, 206 F.3d 249, 252-53 (2d Cir.2000) (nothing in Bennett required recognition of “creative, unrecognized motions for leave to appeal” as “properly filed” applications for post-conviction relief). Similarly, after discussing various cases on both sides of the split, and expressing the concern that considering “defenses,” such as procedural bars, would involve the federal court in either pre-determining questions that properly belonged to the state courts or holding federal actions in abeyance until state courts had adjudicated any issues of a state procedural bar, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals followed what it perceived to be the “majority view” by holding that “a state petition that is dismissed on the basis of procedural default does not render the petition not ‘properly filed.’ ” Habteselassie v. Novak, 209 F.3d 1208, 1211-13 (10th Cir.2000). ii. Deeper inquiries into state law in the interest of comity. There is another side to the argument, however — one that favors the respondent’s interpretation here — as exemplified by decisions of the Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals. This court must therefore explore this side of the “split” en route to its determination of the meaning of “a properly filed application” in § 2244(d)(2). This court begins its survey of decisions on this side of the split with decisions of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, because, in its most recent decision addressing the meaning of “properly filed,” that court stated succinctly two differences between its interpretation and that of the courts on the other side of the split: A motion is not properly filed if the state court denied it as untimely or successive. See Webster v. Moore, 199 F.3d 1256, 1258-60 (11th Cir.2000) (holding that a state motion was not properly filed if the state dismissed it as untimely); Weekley v. Moore, 204 F.3d 1083, 1086 (11th Cir.2000) (holding that a state motion was not properly filed if the state dismissed it as successive). Nyland v. Moore, 216 F.3d 1264, 1266 (11th Cir.2000) (emphasis added). This rule plainly distinguishes the interpretation of “a properly filed application” in the Eleventh Circuit from the rule -applicable in, for example, the Fifth. Compare Hall, 216 F.3d at 520. In Nyland, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals did not expound on the basis for its view of the meaning of “properly filed,” because the court found that “the district court did not reach the question of whether Nyland’s second state motion for post-conviction relief was properly filed, [and so] the question is not properly before us and must be remanded for the district court’s consideration.” Id. The decisions cited in Nyland, however, are more informative on the rationale for the interpretation applied in the Eleventh Circuit. In Webster v. Moore, 199 F.3d 1256 (11th Cir.2000), the court noted the split in authority, and explained its reasons for favoring one interpretation over the other, while acknowledging what common ground existed, as follows: Federal courts have begun to struggle with the meaning of the term “properly filed” as contemplated by the statute, and have developed different interpretive approaches. One court concluded that “properly filed” entails not only some notion of procedural propriety but also a threshold inquiry into substantive merit, see Valentine v. Senkowski, 966 F.Supp. 239, 240-41 (S.D.N.Y.1997), but that decision has been recently overruled, see Bennett v. Ariuz, 199 F.3d 116 (2d Cir.1999). Others have ruled that a “properly filed” state-court petition must comply only with the procedural requirements for filing, such as place, fee payment, and notice. Some opinions have clarified that these procedural formalities include state filing deadlines. See Hoggro v. Boone, 150 F.3d 1223, 1226 & n. 4 (10th Cir.1998); Lovasz v. Vaughn, 134 F.3d 146, 148-49 (3d Cir.1998). Conversely, other cases hold that they do not include more complex state procedural doctrines relating to timeliness or repetitiveness. See, e.g., Bennett, 199 F.3d at 121 (ruling a state petition “properly filed” even though the state court found it procedurally barred under a rule barring collateral claims that could have been raised on direct appeal); Villegas v. Johnson, 184 F.3d 467, 467-73 (5th Cir.1999) (holding a state petition, dismissed as successive or as an abuse of the writ, “properly filed”); Lucas v. Carter, 46 F.Supp.2d 709, 711-12 (N.D.Ohio 1999) (concluding that a petition dismissed by the state court on res judicata grounds was “properly filed”); Souch v. Harkins, 21 F.Supp.2d 1083, 1084-88 (D.Ariz.1998) (observing that a seventh state postconviction petition “complied with all filing requirements” and therefore was “properly filed” despite the state court’s conclusion that the argument raised in the petition had been waived). The legislative history of the provision offers no help in evaluating these interpretations. See Galindo v. Johnson, 19 F.Supp.2d 697, 705-06 (W.D.Tex.1998) (noting the absence of any clarifying history on the question). We perceive two questions that must be resolved to apply the “properly filed” requirement to this case. Neither has been reached in a published opinion from this circuit. The first question is whether the state petition must meet state filing deadlines in order to toll the ALJDPA statute of limitation, and here we agree with the holdings of the Third and Tenth Circuits in Lovasz and Hoggro that it must. See Hoggro, 150 F.3d. at 1226; Lovasz, 134 F.3d at 148-49. The plain language of § 2244(d)(2) comports with this interpretation. Moreover, we can identify in the structure of AEDPA a guiding principle for this interpretation. That structure — including AEDPA’s more robust codification of the exhaustion requirement, see 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b), and the high degree of respect it affords state adjudications of constitutional claims, see 28 U.S.C. §§ 2254(d)-(e) — evinces a concern for federal-state comity closely analogous to that underlying the procedural default principles applied in federal habeas law. See Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 729-32, 111 S.Ct. 2546, 115 L.Ed.2d 640 (1991); Villegas, 184 F.3d at 470-71; Lovasz, 134 F.3d at 148. This concern further militates in favor of requiring compliance with state filing deadlines in the context of § 2244(d)(2). See Lovasz, 134 F.3d at 148-49. The second question is whether a federal court should defer to a state court’s application of state filing deadlines. Again, we find the close analogy between procedural default principles and § 2244(d)(2) compelling, and we see no principled reason to apply a lesser measure of deference to the state court in the context of § 2244(d)(2) than we apply in the context of procedural default questions. We therefore conclude that the state court’s holding that [the petitioner’s state habeas ] petition was time-barred is due deference. Thus, Webster’s ... argument fails. Webster, 199 F.3d at 1258-59 (footnotes omitted). Thus, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals looks not only at whether the state application, on its face, met state filing deadlines to determine whether the state application was “properly filed,” a matter upon which most of the courts cited above (but not necessarily the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals) would agree, but also looks at — and defers to — state court applications of state filing deadlines, invoking in support of its position the same interest in “comity” cited by courts on the other side of the split, but applying that interest as it is otherwise applicable to questions of “procedural default.” Id. Again, in Weekley v. Moore, 204 F.3d 1083 (11th Cir.2000), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recognized the split in authority over the interpretation of “properly filed,” but this time as it related to “successive,” rather than “untimely,” state post-conviction relief applications. Because the decision in Weekley addresses significantly more appellate authority on the interpretation of “properly filed,” this court will again quote a substantial portion of the decision, which discusses the spit in authority as well as the rationale of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in reaching its interpretation: The resolution of this appeal thus turns on whether a successive petition such as Weekley’s is nonetheless a “properly filed application” under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2). The courts that have addressed the issue have reached differing results. The phrase “properly filed application” is not defined in the AEDPA itself and the legislative history sheds little light on its meaning. See Villegas v. Johnson, 184 F.3d 467, 470 (5th Cir.1999) (citing legislative history). Some courts have construed the -phrase narrowly to mean that the state post-conviction motion or petition complies with the bare minimum of procedural requirements such as time and place of filing. On this view, if a prisoner managed to file his state petition within the applicable time limits and in the right court, his petition would be “properly filed.” Sometimes, despite the lack of a clear (or any) definition of the phrase “properly filed application,” this construction is justified on the grounds that the plain meaning of the phrase is so unambiguous as to compel only the narrow interpretation. See Lovasz v. Vaughn, 134 F.3d 146, 148 (3d Cir.1998) (“[ajfter all, Congress chose the phrase ‘a properly filed application,’ one into which we do not read any requirement that the application be nonfrivolous”); See also Villegas, 184 F.3d at 470 (stating reluctance to go beyond “plain meaning of the phrase”). Courts favoring the narrow interpretation also rely on principles of comity and on the exhaustion requirement to support their interpretation. See id. at 472; See also Bennett v. Artuz, 199 F.3d 116 (2nd Cir.1999). Other couris, however, have interpreted the phrase “properly filed” more broadly, in accord with the purposes of the AEDPA limitations period and the qualification that state courts must be given the first opportunity to decide state prisoners’ constitutional claims. For example, in Tinker v. Hanks, 172 F.3d 990, 991 (7th Cir.1999), the Seventh Circuit held that an application for leave to file a successive state habeas petition was not a “properly filed application” under the AEDPA. The reasoning of the Seventh Circuit was that Congress could not have intended to allow prisoners to extend the limitations period indefinitely by filing repeated applications for leave. Id. The Court also noted that there was little reason to worry that the state and federal courts might reach differing results on whether a state petition is “properly filed” because the federal court can, in its discretion, stay the federal case while the state petition is pending. Id. Similarly, the Ninth Circuit has held that a state petition is not “properly filed” if the petition is dismissed as successive under the state’s procedural rules. See Dictado v. Ducharme, 189 F.3d 889, 892 (9th Cir.1999). The Court reasoned that the policy of deferring to state courts weighs in favor of requiring prisoners to comply with the full range of state procedural rules, including the rule regarding successive petitions. Id. Though this precise issue has not been addressed in this Circuit, the Court has interpreted the phrase “properly filed” in the context of an untimely state petition. We held recently that a state petition is not “properly filed” when it fails to comply with state filing deadlines as applied by the state court. See Webster v. Moore, 199 F.3d 1256 (11th Cir.2000). In Webster, we noted that the AEDPA demonstrates a concern for federal-state comity and deference to state determinations of constitutional claims. See Webster at 1258-1259 (concern for federal-state comity “militates in favor of requiring compliance with state filing deadlines in the context of § 2244(d)(2)”). Because we are persuaded by the reasoning of the courts that have not deemed successive state court filings to be “properly filed, ” we extend Webster to prohibit tolling in the circumstances of this case. This extension is in accord with the AEDPA’s purpose of encouraging state court exhaustion, while also not allowing procedurally defective motions, such as Weekley’s successive motions, to toll the period for filing a federal habeas action. Weekley, 204 F.3d at 1085-86 (emphasis added). Thus, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals specifically looks at both the applicable deadlines and procedural requirements and state-court determinations of whether those deadlines or requirements have been met, and moreover defers to state-court determinations of whether state applications violate state procedural rules prohibiting untimely or successive petitions. As noted in Weekley, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals relied on prior decisions of the Seventh and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals for its interpretation of “properly filed” within the meaning of § 2244(d)(2). As explained in Freeman v. Page, 208 F.3d 572 (7th Cir.2000), a more recent decision of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, that court relies upon a rule that the way the state court treated the application determines whether the application was “properly filed” for purposes of § 2244(d)(2): Whether a collateral attack is “properly filed” can be determined in a straightforward way by looking at how the state courts treated it. If they considered the claim on the merits, it was properly filed; if they dismissed it for procedural flaws such as untimeliness, then it was not properly filed. Freeman, 208 F.3d at 576; Jefferson v. Welborn, 222 F.3d 286, 288 (7th Cir.2000) (quoting this portion of Freeman as stating the rule for the meaning of “properly filed” in the Seventh Circuit). The court in Freeman described this rule as an “objective” test, with the further virtue that “[t]he objective approach not only facilitates decision-making but also gives the parties a clear benchmark. Everyone knows exactly when the federal petition is due.” Id. The court in Freeman found that it had previously followed the “objective” approach in Tinker v. Hanks, 172 F.3d 990 (7th Cir.1999), petition for cert. filed, (Dec. 27, 1999) (No. 99-7682), which held that an unsuccessful application in state court for leave to file a second or successive collateral attack does not toll the time to commence a collateral attack in federal court: Tinker observed that, if the state court had permitted the filing, then the application would have been “properly filed” for purposes of § 2244(d)(2), but we held that when the state court does not permit the filing, that decision is concl