What Is a Federal 2255 Motion? | Post-Conviction Relief Explained by Federal Appeals Attorney

So today I want to talk a little bit about federal 2255 motions. Federal defendants who have been convicted of crimes but have either pleaded guilty under a plea agreement that contained an appellate waiver, or once people have lost their direct appeals, can still file a 2255 motion in just a district court where they were convicted. Now, a 2255 motion asks the court to either vacate set aside, or correct your criminal sentence. Now, often 2255 motions are vehicles for raising claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, and things like that. I mean, things that are sort of outside of the record that currently exists. Now, you cannot delay in filing this motion, though. A defendant has 1 year to file a 2255 motion from either Number 1, the date that your judgment and conviction becomes final. Number 2, if the government, for whatever reason, prevented you from raising the claim, then you have 1 year from the time that you become aware of whatever that additional evidence may be. So let's just say, for example, the government failed to let you know that a co-conspirator exonerated you, had some evidence to show that you weren't guilty of what you were convicted of. You have 1 year from the date that you find out about that to file your 2255 motion. And then lastly, you've got 1 year from the time that the United States Supreme Court comes out with like a new rule or a new law that can impact you in a favorable way. So 1 year. But you have to be really careful because beyond that 1 year, you're beyond your statute of limitations and the court is not gonna have jurisdiction to even review your motion. Now, if you lose your 2255 motion, which would be filed in the district court where you're convicted, but if you lose that, then you have an opportunity to ask the Circuit Court of Appeals in your district to grant you what's called a certificate of appealability. And once they do that, you can say, "Look, I really think that the district court got this wrong. Can you please grant me a certificate of appealability and review my case?" You can do that if you lose your case. It's a little complicated. People don't really know a whole lot about 2255 motions, but if you have any questions about it, please feel free to give our firm a call. Elizabeth Franklin Best, P.C. We can be reached at 803-445-1333. Thank you.