§ 2254 Checklist: State Cases in Federal Court

The form you need: Official § 2254 form (AO 241) — the official fillable PDF, unmodified. See the forms library for the issuing authority's page.

Naming the respondent

• Rule 2(a): if you are currently in custody under the state judgment, name the state officer who has custody.
• Rule 2(b): if you are not yet in custody but may be under the judgment you are contesting, name both the officer with current custody and the state attorney general, and ask for relief from the judgment being contested.

Filing mechanics

• Rule 3(a): an original and two copies to the clerk, accompanied by either the filing fee or a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
• If you proceed in forma pauperis, Rule 3(a)(2) requires the § 1915 affidavit and a certificate from the warden or other appropriate officer showing the amount in your institutional account.
• The habeas filing fee is $5 under 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a).
• Rule 3(d) is the inmate-filing rule — timely on deposit in the institution's internal mail system.

Timing and exhaustion

• Rule 3(c): the time to file is governed by 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d) — the one-year AEDPA clock.
• A properly filed state post-conviction application tolls that clock while it is pending. An improperly filed one does not.
• Exhaust your state remedies first: give the state's highest available court a fair opportunity to rule on each claim before bringing it here.

The standard you will be held to

• Under § 2254(d), relief on a claim adjudicated on the merits in state court requires showing the decision was contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established Supreme Court law, or based on an unreasonable determination of the facts.
• A state court being wrong is not the test. The test is whether it was unreasonable — a materially higher bar.
• To appeal a denial you need a certificate of appealability under § 2253(c).

Not a prediction of any outcome. Deadlines and local rules vary by district — confirm them against your own court's rules and your own record.