What is habeas corpus?

What is Habeas Corpus?

A federal habeas corpus motion is often the last meaningful opportunity an inmate has to challenge their conviction or sentence. A federal inmate may petition their sentencing court to vacate, set aside, or correct their sentence or conviction if either is in violation of the U.S. Constitution or established federal law. What this means is that errors of law or fact, like the denial of effective assistance of counsel or the imposition of a sentence that exceeds the statutory maximum, may be challenged if those defects inherently resulted in a fundamental miscarriage of justice. It is a powerful tool to fix major problems.

But a habeas corpus motion under 2255 is not a second bite at the apple. This motion does not let you relitigate matters already decided on direct appeal, nor is it an opportunity to second-guess legal strategy or prior decisions made by one’s lawyer. It exists only to challenge basic, fundamental defects in your case. A 2255 petitioner must meet a stringent standard to succeed that is significantly higher then that required on direct appeal. In other words, these motions are hard and extraordinarily difficult to win.

If you do meet that standard, however, you essentially rewind the clock to fix that error and proceed as if it never happened. So if there were fundamental defects in your sentence, you would get a new sentencing hearing to correct those errors and receive a proper sentence. If there were constitutional problems with your plea deal, your conviction would be vacated and you would be put back into a pre-plea status to start that process over again. Constitutional defects with your indictment might mean your entire case is thrown out.