Petition For Writ Of Habeas Corpus By A Person In Federal Custody

Instructions for Filing a Petition Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in Federal Custody in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona 1. Who May Use This Form. If you are detained in Arizona, you may use this form to challenge your detention by federal immigration authorities or to challenge the execution of your federal sentence by the United States Bureau of Prisons. You are asking for release or earlier release on the grounds that your detention or future detention violates the United States Constitution or other federal law. You should not use this form to challenge a state or federal judgment of conviction or sentence. If you are challenging a conviction or sentence entered against you by a state court, you should file a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for writ of habeas corpus by a person in state custody. If you are challenging a judgment of conviction or sentence entered by a federal court, you should file a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate sentence in the federal court that entered the judgment. Any claim that may be brought or has already been brought in a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 may not be brought using this form unless it appears that the § 2255 motion is inadequate or ineffective to test the legality of your detention. This form should not be used in death penalty cases. If you were sentenced to death, you are entitled to the assistance of counsel and you should request the appointment of counsel. 2. The Form. Local Rule of Civil Procedure (LRCiv) 3.5(a) provides that habeas corpus petitions must be filed on the court-approved form. The form must be typed or neatly handwritten. All questions must be answered clearly and concisely in the appropriate space on the form. If needed, you may attach additional pages. The form, however, must be completely filled in to the extent applicable. You do not need to cite law. If you want to file a brief or arguments, you must attach a separate memorandum. 3. Your Signature. You must tell the truth and sign the form. If you make a false statement of a material fact, you may be prosecuted for perjury. 4. The Filing Fee. The filing fee for this action is $5.00. If you are unable to pay the filing fee, you may request permission to proceed in forma pauperis by completing and signing the Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis provided with the petition form. You must have an official at the prison or jail complete the certificate at the bottom of the application form. If the amount of money in your account exceeds $25.00, you must pay the $5.00 filing fee. LRCiv 3.5(b). 5. Original and Judge's Copy. You must send an original plus one copy of your petition and of any other document submitted to the Court. You must send one additional copy to the Court if you wish to have a file-stamped copy of the document returned to you. All copies must be identical to the original. Copies may be legibly handwritten. 6. Where to File. You should file your petition in the division where you are detained. See LRCiv 5.1(a). If you are detained in Maricopa, Pinal, Yuma, La Paz, or Gila County, you should file your petition in the Phoenix Division. If you are detained in Apache, Navajo, Coconino, Mohave, or Yavapai County, you should file your petition in the Prescott Division. If you are detained in Pima, Cochise, Santa Cruz, Graham, or Greenlee County, you should file your Revised 3/15/16 1 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com petition in the Tucson Division. See LRCiv 5.1(b) and 77.1(a). Mail the original and one copy of your petition with the $5.00 filing fee or the application to proceed in forma pauperis to: Phoenix & Prescott Divisions: OR U.S. District Court Clerk U.S. Courthouse, Suite 130 401 West Washington Street, SPC 10 Phoenix, Arizona 85003-2119 Tucson Division: U.S. District Court Clerk U.S. Courthouse, Suite 1500 405 West Congress Street Tucson, Arizona 85701-5010 7. Change of Address. You must immediately notify the Court and respondents in writing of any change in your mailing address. Failure to notify the Court of any change in your mailing address may result in the dismissal of your case. 8. Certificate of Service. You must provide the respondents with a copy of any document you submit to the Court (except the initial petition and application to proceed in forma pauperis). Each original document (except the initial petition and application to proceed in forma pauperis) must include a certificate of service on the last page of the document stating the date a copy of the document was mailed to the respondents and the address to which it was mailed. Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(a), (d). Any document received by the Court that does not include a certificate of service may be stricken. A certificate of service should be in the following form: I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was mailed this (month, day, year) to: Name: Address: Attorney for Respondent(s) (Signature) 9. Amended Petition. If you need to change any of the information in the initial petition, you must file an amended petition. The amended petition must be written on the court-approved petition for writ of habeas corpus form. You may amend your pleading once without leave (permission) of Court within 21 days after serving it or within 21 days after any respondent has filed an answer, whichever is earlier. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a). Thereafter, you must file a motion for leave to amend and lodge (submit) a proposed amended petition. LRCiv 15.1. An amended petition may not incorporate by reference any part of your prior petition. LRCiv 15.1(a)(2). Any grounds not included in the amended petition are considered dismissed. 10. Exhibits. If available, you should attach a copy of all federal court and administrative written decisions regarding the detention you are challenging. You should not submit any other exhibits with the petition. Instead, the relevant information should be paraphrased in the petition. 11. Letters and Motions. It is generally inappropriate to write a letter to any judge or the staff of any judge. The only appropriate way to communicate with the Court is by filing a written pleading or motion. 2 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com 12. Exhaustion. In order to proceed with this petition in federal court, you ordinarily must exhaust any administrative remedies available to you. If you did not fairly present each of your grounds to the appropriate administrative agencies, yo