INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING A HABEAS CORPUS PETITION UNDER 28 U.S.C. §2254 These instructions are meant only to help you understand the forms and to explain some of the Court's procedures. The Court cannot give you legal advice or provide you with copies of cases or other legal materials. This packet contains two copies of a petition form and two copies of a motion to proceed in forma pauperis. You only have to file one copy of each with the Clerk. The extra copies are provided so that you may use them to make a copy of what you are filing. The Court does not have to provide copies to you and anything you file with the Court becomes a part of the official Court record. Asking for the Filing Fee to be Waived The filing fee for a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland is $5.00. The filing fee must be paid when you file the petition or you must file a motion to proceed in forma pauperis. A petition filed without either the filing fee or a motion to proceed in forma pauperis does not have to be accepted for filing. PLEASE NOTE: The affidavit you file in support of your motion to proceed in forma pauperis is a statement made UNDER OATH and must be accurate. You may be required to pay the full filing fee or your case may be dismissed if you do not include all requested information or the information provided is not correct. IS THIS FORM FOR YOU? o Use this form if: You are currently in custody or will be in custody because of a STATE COURT judgment; You want to allege your detention violates the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States; AND You have not filed a petition concerning the same state court judgment previously in this Court. o YOU MAY FILE ONLY ONE PETITION PER JUDGMENT. o If you have already filed a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. §2254 challenging the same judgment and it was denied, you must file a motion with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit asking it to authorize this Court to consider a second or successive petition. o Unless the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals authorizes this Court to consider your successive petition, this Court will not have jurisdiction to consider it. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com Filling out the Petition Form You may either type your petition OR handwrite it so long as it is easily read. Documents filed with the Court that cannot be read do not have to be accepted for filing. If you need more space to provide any of the information requested, attach additional sheets of paper and indicate that you have done so on the petition form. Generally, the Respondents are the Warden or Adminstrator of the facility where you are confined and the Attorney General for the State of Maryland. Answer the questions on the petition form carefully and provide as much information as you can, including dates and case numbers. INCLUDE ALL the claims you wish to raise about the state court conviction that is the subject of your Petition. Remember: o Limit your petition to one state court conviction and file a separate petition for different convictions. Multiple counts of one conviction may be addressed in a single petition. o Any claim you raise in federal court about a state court conviction must have been considered in state court first. This means you raised the claim and appealed any denial of the claim up through the highest court. This is called exhaustion. o You are not required to provide legal citations, but if you wish to make legal arguments you may file a separate Memorandum of Law in support of your petition. o There are procedural rules that apply to Habeas Corpus Petitions. They are: Rules Governing Habeas Corpus Cases Under Section 2254 In The United States District Courts The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and The Local Rules of this Court. Request these rules from your prison librarian. In the last section you should state what you want the Court to do in the event judgment is entered in your favor. Money damages ARE NOT available in a habeas corpus action and if you ask for money damages your petition may be construed as a civil rights complaint. You must sign the petition UNDER OATH. Mail your completed Petition to: The Clerk of the Court 101 W. Lombard Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201 2254 Petition (Rev. 03/2011) 2 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com Representing Yourself Your petition will be reviewed by the Court to make certain it is filled out properly. If additional information is needed, you will be notified. A judge will be assigned and a case number will be provided for your case. o PUT YOUR CASE NUMBER ON ALL DOCUMENTS you send to the Clerk concerning your case. Everything you file in your case should be addressed to: The Clerk of the Court United States District Court 101 West Lombard Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201 You MUST notify the Court in writing of any change in your address while your case is pending. Failing to do so may result in dismissal of your petition. DO NOT try to communicate directly with the judge assigned to your case. If you want to request that something be done in your case you must file a motion or other pleading with the Clerk. Exhibits or other documents already filed by the other party do not need to be filed again; rather, you simply refer to the document. You must sign all of the documents you file. Unless otherwise directed by the Court, you do not need to send a copy of everything you file in your case to counsel for Respondent, because the attorney can view your original submissions electronically from the docket. Document1 2254 Petition (Rev. 03/2011) 3 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on this (title of the document) day of , , a copy of this , was mailed, postage prepaid, to (name and address of the attorney or person to whom you sent it). (your signature) It is not necessary to state in the certificate of service that copies were sent to the Court or to the Clerk. Do not file any motions or memoranda that are longer than fifty pages unless you have received permission from the Court. Most motions and memoranda should be much shorter than fifty pages. You do not have to file copies of exhibits that are already on file in the same case. For example, if the respondents in your case file an answer and attach as an exhibit a copy of your post conviction petition, you do not have to attach a copy