PETITIONS FOR WRITS OF HABEAS CORPUS  

A petition for a writ of habeas corpus is a document filed in federal court
seeking an order telling the state to either re-try the person or release her
from custody. It is an attack on the conviction and sentence and is based
solely on federal constitutional issues. State evidentiary rulings and
procedural errors are not normally claims for habeas corpus petitions. The
claims must have first been presented to the state courts, preferably in the
direct appeal, or as a last resort, in a post-conviction case. This presentation
to the state courts is called "exhaustion," meaning the person has exhausted
their state remedies.
Federal courts will not even review "unexhausted" claims, and might even
deny the entire petition just because there is an "unexhausted" claim in it.
A federal habeas corpus petition MUST be filed (if at all) within one year
of the state conviction becoming final. If following the state appeal being
denied, the appellant did not seek review by the United States Supreme
Court, then the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996
mandate that the deadline for filing a petition is 455 days after the state
appellate decision denying the appeal or denying rehearing (whichever is
later). If the appellant did, in fact, seek review (certiorari) at the U.S.
Supreme Court, then the deadline for a habeas petition is 365 days after the
Supreme Court case concludes. Contact us for more detailed information and
the rare exceptions to these filing deadlines.
Appeals from the federal district courts' denial of habeas corpus petitions are
taken to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. If that court denies
the appeal, review in the United States Supreme Court can be sought, but it
is not very likely to be accepted.
Habeas corpus petitions are rarely successful and are truly a "last resort."
If you are considering a habeas corpus appeal, contact us immediately to
determine whether you are still within the statutory time period for filing.
You should also carefully read the section of this website called "Case
Review."
Federal Habeas Corpus
Jackson & Presson
Attorneys
Norman Oklahoma
405.447.6637
Robert W. Jackson
Steven M. Presson