Because Congress has placed strict limitations on federal review of state court convictions, there are difficult requirements to file a 2254 Petition. First, you must satisfy the “exhaustion” requirement. This means that a federal court will not consider your petition unless you first ask the state court to review your claims. In Texas, this means that you must first file a state habeas petition under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 11.07. If you filed a state habeas petition and lost, then you may ask the federal court to review the state court’s decision. There are some exceptions to the exhaustion requirement, but they are rare.

Second, the federal court can only grant relief if the state court’s decision violated “clearly established federal law” or “was based on an unreasonable interpretation of the facts.” This is a difficult standard to meet and involves very complex legal analysis. Finally, not only must you meet the exhaustion requirement by first filing a state habeas petition, but the state court must also issue a ruling on the merits. This means that the state court must have actually considered your arguments instead of dismissing your petition for some procedural reason, such as failure to timely file.

If you meet the requirements to file a 2254 Petition, you may do so by outlining your constitutional arguments and filing the petition in federal district court. Once you file the petition, the State will be permitted to file a response. You may also file a reply to the State’s response. Sometimes the federal court will hold an evidentiary hearing to consider whether it should grant relief. However, evidentiary hearings are rare in Texas federal courts. After the court considers all of the filings, it will issue a written decision.

The statute of limitations rules for 2254 Motions can be confusing. In general, you have one year from the state court judgment became final. That date depends on whether you filed an appeal and whether you petitioned the Supreme Court for review of your case. However, the statute of limitations is “tolled” or paused when you file a state habeas petition, and it remains on hold until the state court rules on the state habeas petition.

There are other circumstances when you can file a 2254 Motion even if your conviction became final more than one year ago, such as when the Supreme Court recognizes a new right and determines that right should be retroactively applicable to cases on habeas review, or when new facts supporting a claim could not have been discovered before.

The statute of limitations rules are very important because there are no exceptions. If the deadline has passed, the court will not consider your 2254 Motion. It is important to consult with a knowledgeable attorney as soon as possible after your conviction to discuss your options.

If the federal district court denies your petition, you may choose to appeal. However, there is no automatic right to appeal a habeas corpus case. Instead, you must ask the court of appeals to issue a “certificate of appealability” or “COA” granting you permission to appeal. The court of appeals will only issue a COA if you make a substantial showing that your constitutional rights were violated. If the court grants a COA, the appeal will proceed with a briefing schedule in which you file your initial brief, the State files a response, and you file a reply. The court may permit oral argument but argument is not guaranteed. A COA is granted but you lose on appeal, you may petition the Supreme Court for review.

Sometimes you can file what’s called a “second or successive” 2254 Motion, but the rules are very strict, and you must first get permission from the court of appeals to file the motion. The court of appeals will only authorize a second or successive 2254 Motion if new evidence shows that the jury would not have found you guilty of the crime of conviction or if the Supreme Court has recognized a new rule of constitutional law and made that right retroactively applicable to cases on habeas review. A new rule of constitutional law is retroactive if the Supreme Court orders that it applies to everyone who was affected by it before the new rule was announced.