Motion To Vacate Set Aside Or Correct Sentence

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING A MOTION TO VACATE, SET ASIDE, OR CORRECT SENTENCE UNDER 28 U.S.C. §2255 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 Motion to Vacate Form. You only have to file one copy with the Clerk. The extra copy is provided so that you may use it 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. There is no fee for filing a motion to vacate under § 2255. IS THIS FORM FOR YOU? o USE THIS FORM IF: You are currently in custody or will be in custody because of a FEDERAL COURT judgment; You want to allege: you are in custody in violation of the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States; your sentence exceeds the maximum permitted by law; the court did not have jurisdiction to impose judgment; or your trial counsel was ineffective. You have NOT filed a motion to vacate concerning the same federal judgment before. o YOU MAY FILE ONLY ONE Motion to vacate PER JUDGMENT. o If you have already filed a motion to vacate under 28 U.S.C. §2255 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 motion. o Unless the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals authorizes this Court to consider your successive motion, this Court will not have jurisdiction to consider your motion. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com Filing the Motion You may either type your motion OR hand write 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 form. Keep in mind that this is a motion filed in connection with your federal criminal case; therefore, it should be filed in the court where you were convicted. The Case Number is your federal criminal case number. A civil case number will be assigned later by the Clerk. This is a little confusing and may lead to people failing to put their criminal case number on the motion. Everything you receive from the Court after your motion is filed will have both numbers on it; include both numbers on anything else you file. Answer the questions on the form carefully and provide as much information as you can. INCLUDE ALL the claims you wish to raise. o o o o List each ground on which you are seeking relief State the facts from your case that support each ground It is not necessary to provide legal citations. If you want to provide legal arguments, you may file a separate Memorandum of Law. In the last section you should state what you want the Court to do in the event judgment is entered in your favor. You must sign the motion UNDER OATH. Mail your completed motion to the federal court in Maryland where your trial was held, either: The Clerk of the Court U.S. District Court-Maryland Northern Division 101 W. Lombard Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201 The Clerk of the Court U.S. District Court-Maryland Sourthern Division 6500 Cherrywood Lane Greenbelt, Maryland 20770 OR If the judge who presided over your criminal trial is no longer available, another judge may be assigned to review your motion to vacate. 2255 Motion (Rev. 06/2011) 2 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com  The Court may order the government to respond to your motion. If so, you may file a Reply. You will have thirty (30) days from the date the government answers to do so unless the Court specifies some other filing deadline. Representing Yourself For a Motion to Vacate under 28 U.S.C. §2255 Your motion will be reviewed by the Court to make certain it is filled out properly. If additional information is needed, you will be notified what to file and when to file it. If you need additional time, ask for it with a motion for extension of time. Do not allow the time to expire or your motion to vacate may be denied or dismissed. Everything you file in your case should be addressed to the appropriate Clerk's Office: The Clerk of the Court The Clerk of the Court U.S. District Court-Maryland U.S. District Court-Maryland Northern Division OR Sourthern Division 101 W. Lombard Street 6500 Cherrywood Lane Baltimore, Maryland 21201 Greenbelt, Maryland 20770 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 denial of your motion. 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 document 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. 2255 Motion (Rev. 06/2011) 3 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on this day of , , a copy of this (title of the document) ,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 government files a response to your motion and attaches as an exhibit a copy of a plea agreement, you do not have to attach a copy of that document to any motions or memoranda you file. You may simply refer to the copy that is already in the file. You must sign every pleading, motion, and memorandum that you file. You MAY NOT sign someone else's name, nor may you file anything on behalf of someone else. 2255 Motion (Rev. 06/2011) 4 American LegalNe