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The state court got it wrong and you want a federal judge to look at it. That is possible, and it is harder than it sounds, because being right is not by itself enough. Here is what has to be true, and the deadline that decides whether he gets the chance at all.
Official § 2254 form (AO 241) All federal court forms →
A § 2254 petition is for someone held under a state court conviction. It is filed in federal district court, and the person named on the other side is the official who has custody of him, usually the warden. The filing fee is $5, or he can ask to proceed without paying. The official form is AO 241.
Before a federal judge will hear a claim, he has to present it to the state courts, all the way up through the state's highest court that will hear it. A claim that was skipped in state court can be lost for good. This is called procedural default, and there are only narrow ways around it, including one for mistakes by a post-conviction lawyer.
He usually has one year from the day his state conviction became final on direct appeal. The clock pauses while a properly filed state post-conviction petition is pending. But any time that passed before that petition was filed stays used up, and families are often surprised that months spent looking for a lawyer counted against the year. More on how the clock runs.
If the state court decided the claim on its merits, a federal judge can step in only if that decision was contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established Supreme Court law, or rested on an unreasonable reading of the facts. A decision can be wrong without being unreasonable under that test. This is the hardest part of every § 2254 case. See why federal courts rarely overturn a state conviction.
Strong, reliable new evidence that he did not do it can sometimes get a court to hear claims that would otherwise be barred. The bar is high. Read how the innocence gateway works.
A claim not raised at the right stage is usually lost for good. Martinez v. Ryan made one narrow exception, and it reaches less far than people think.
Read the post → Post-Conviction · § 2254 · September 5, 2026Winning a § 2254 petition takes more than showing the state court got it wrong. The standard federal judges apply, and why it is so hard to meet.
Read the post → Post-Conviction · § 2254 · August 15, 2026State prisoners usually get one year to file federal habeas under § 2254, but the clock may start later than you think and can pause. How it works.
Read the post → Post-Conviction · § 2254 · August 13, 2026New evidence of innocence can sometimes reopen claims barred by default or the deadline. The standard is hard, and it works differently than people think.
Read the post → Post-Conviction · § 2254 · August 11, 2026A federal court can refuse to hear a strong claim that wasn't raised the right way in state court first. How procedural default works, and ways around it.
Read the post →§ 2255 Motions · § 2241 Habeas · Compassionate Release · First Step Act & BOP
