As you know, I’ve written about the one-year timeline that runs from the time that you are convicted and your direct appeal is final to file your 2255 Writ.
There is still hope! Don’t give up!
There are other ways that you can pursue the 2255 Writ even after the one year has expired from the date of conviction or your direct appeal becoming final.
Two of the ways you can file after the timeline is if you can prove actual innocence or if you have newly discovered evidence.
If there’s something that’s come to light, there’s a new Brady violation or something that you were unaware of before that you’ve now become aware of, you have one year from the date you discover that information to file the 2255 Writ.
You can also apply for an extension if the government has prohibited you from filing.
If you’ve been in a situation where you haven’t had proper access to law libraries or to resources to be able to do your 2255 writ application, then you can claim that the government has been impeding you from filing the writ application, and therefore you can have an extended period from the time that the government has stopped impeding you.
The last typical area where you can file your 2255 after the deadline is new recognized law by the United States Supreme Court.
There are instances where the United States Supreme Court has declared a new law that gives new constitutional rights to prisoners.
In this case, the new precedent could affect your case and conviction, such as a new ground of ineffective assistance of counsel. It’s just a newly recognized right that hasn’t been previously recognized and is made retroactive to people whose cases have come before the decision. These grounds can be asserted one year after the applicable law is declared to apply to your case.
As you can see, not all hope is lost if it’s been over a year since your conviction.
There are still many ways you can pursue the 2255 Writ, and as you move forward with your case I encourage you to consider these methods to help you achieve freedom.
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About The Attorney
Jacob Blizzard is board certified in both criminal law and criminal appellate law.
He regularly practices in the areas of state and federal criminal defense, criminal appeals, post conviction writs of habeas corpus.
In Texas, there are more than 100,000 attorneys licensed to practice, but only 7,450 are board certified.
In the entire State of Texas, as of the 2019 certification year, there were only 87 attorneys board certified in both criminal law and criminal appellate law, making Mr. Blizzard one of 0.087% of attorneys in Texas to hold both of those certifications.
