Any person who is in custody under a state court judgment may challenge his or her conviction in federal court on the ground that there was a violation of his or her federal constitutional rights.  It is called a 2254 petition because the statute governing federal habeas petitions challenging state court judgments is 28 U.S.C. § 2254.

A 2254 petition must be filed in the federal district court that has jurisdiction over the county where the conviction occurred. The United States District Court for the Central District of California has jurisdiction over Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.

File your petition on the form provided by the district court (click here for the form).  Copies of the form and instructions for filing can be obtained from the district court’s website.

Only issues related to federal constitutional violations (with the exception of Fourth Amendment claims) may be raised in a 2254 petition.  The federal court will not consider issues based solely on state law.  Also, the federal court cannot consider any claims that were not first presented to the highest state court.  You must exhaust all of your state court remedies first.

If you were convicted in state court, you have an automatic right to an appeal in the state court of appeal.  You have a right to appointed counsel, and the state court will consider any issues raised by you and your attorney. When you file a federal habeas petition, you may only raise issues related to constitutional violations and you have no right to the assistance of counsel.

Our office cannot represent 2254 habeas petitioners unless we are appointed to the case by the district court. There is a right to counsel if your federal habeas petition involves a death penalty sentence.  The district court does not appoint counsel in most other cases.  However, if it appears that an evidentiary hearing will be held, the court will often appoint counsel.

Yes, you have very little time to prepare your federal habeas petition.  Generally, a 2254 federal habeas petition must be filed within a year after your direct appeal was final. In California, this is usually 90 days after the California Supreme Court’s denial of the petition for review.  The limitations period is mandatory and jurisdictional.  Although there are some ways to toll the statute of limitations, your petition will be dismissed if you miss the filing deadline.

If you file a 2254 petition in the Central District of California, it is assigned to both a magistrate judge and a district court judge.  The magistrate judge is responsible for all the preliminary litigation.  Because the magistrate judge does not have the legal authority to issue a final order, the magistrate judge will issue a report and recommendation to the district court judge.  The district court judge can either adopt the magistrate judge’s recommendation or issue his or her own order.

You must file a notice of appeal with the district court clerk within 30 days of the judgment denying the petition.  The district court considers your notice of appeal to be a request for a certificate of appealability (COA), but you may also file a separate request for a COA.  The appeal will not go forward unless the court grants a COA.  If the district court denies the certificate, it will forward your file to the Ninth Circuit.  The Ninth Circuit will consider for itself whether to issue a COA.  If either court issues the COA, a briefing schedule will be set.

A 2255 petition may be filed by a person in federal custody to challenge a federal sentence or conviction.  The 2254 petition is for challenges to state convictions and sentences. Also, a 2255 petition is not limited to constitutional claims.  Other 28 U.S.C. § 2255 provides that it may be used to raise claims that your sentence or conviction was unauthorized under any law of the United States.

Yes, you have very little time to prepare your federal habeas petition.  Generally, a 2254 federal habeas petition must be filed within a year after your direct appeal was final. In California, this is usually 90 days after the California Supreme Court’s denial of the petition for review.  The limitations period is mandatory and jurisdictional.  Although there are some ways to toll the statute of limitations, your petition will be dismissed if you miss the filing deadline.

The petition may be filed on the form provided by the district court.  Copies of the form and instructions for filing can be obtained from the district court’s website. CACD-Habeas Petition (State)-2255