INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING A PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS BY A PERSON IN STATE CUSTODY PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 2254 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONAI. General Information About the Habeas Corpus Form:A. The Form. The petition for writ of habeas corpus by a person in state custody form is designed to help prisoners prepare a petition challenging their custody on the grounds that their state conviction or sentence violates the United States Constitution or other federal law. Local Rule 3.3 requires that habeas corpus petitions be filed on the court-approved form. Your petition must be typewritten or legibly 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. This form should not be used in death penalty cases.B. Your Signature. The petition must be signed by the petitioner under penalty of perjury. Any false statement of a material fact may serve as the basis for prosecution and conviction for perjury. Your signature must be an original signature, not a photocopy.C. The Filing Fee. Your petition for writ of habeas corpus must be accompanied by the $5.00 filing fee (checks or money orders should be made payable to the Clerk of the Court). If you are unable to pay the filing fee when the petition is filed, 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 prison account exceeds $25.00, you must pay the $5.00 filing fee. See Local Rule 3.3(c).D. Court Divisions. If you are challenging a state judgment of conviction entered in Maricopa, Pinal, Yuma, La Paz, or Gila county, you should file your petition in the Phoenix Division of the court. If you are challenging a state judgment of conviction entered in Apache, Navajo, Coconino, Mohave, or Yavapai county, you should file your petition in the Prescott Division of the court. If you are challenging a state judgment of conviction entered in Pima, Cochise, Santa Cruz, Graham, or Greenlee county, you should file your petition in the Tucson Division of the court. See Local Rule 1.1.You should mail THE ORIGINAL AND TWO COPIES of your petition with the $5.00 filing fee or the application to proceed in forma pauperis to:ORPhoenix & Prescott Divisions:Tucson Division:U.S. District Court ClerkU.S. District Court ClerkU.S. Courthouse, Suite 321U.S. Courthouse, Suite 1500401 West Washington Street, SPC 10405 West Congress StreetPhoenix, Arizona 85003-2119Tucson, Arizona 85701-501098-2254ins Revised 6/9812001 © American LegalNet, Inc.E. Certificate of Service on Respondents. You must furnish the respondents or their attorney with a copy of any document you submit to the court (except the initial petition and application to proceed in forma pauperis). Pursuant to Rules 5(a) and (d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, each original document (except the initial petition and application for leave 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 or their attorney and the address to which it was mailed. Any document received by the court which 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 thisday of(month), (year) , to:Name:Address:Attorney for Defendant(s)/Respondent(s)(Signature)F. Original and Judge's Copy. You must file an original plus two copies of your petition. After the petition is filed, you must furnish an original and one copy of any other document submitted to the court. You must furnish one additional copy to the clerk if you wish to have a file-stamped copy of the document returned to you. All copies must be identical to the original.G. Exhibits. You should attach a copy of all final state court written decisions and all written decisions by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the conviction you are challenging. You should not submit any other exhibits with the petition. Instead, the relevant information should be paraphrased in the petition.H. Change of Address. You must immediately notify the clerk and the opposing party or their attorney 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.I. 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 habeas corpus form. Local Rule 1.9(e) prohibits any amended pleading from referencing any prior pleading. Further, any grounds not included in the amended petition are considered dismissed.J. Letters and Motions. It is generally inappropriate to write a letter to any of the District Judges, Magistrates Judges, or the staff of any of the judicial officers. The appropriate way to communicate with these persons is by filing a written pleading or motion.22001 © American LegalNet, Inc.II. Completing the Habeas Corpus Petition Form: HEADING:1. Your Name and Address. Print your name, prison or jail inmate number, and mailing address on the lines provided in the upper left hand corner of the form.2. Petitioner. Print your full name on the first line of the caption.3. Respondent. Print the name of the director of the department of corrections, or the warden of the institution where you are confined, or some other official who has responsibility for your current custody.4. Additional Respondent. Print the name of the state where the judgment of conviction you are challenging was entered on the blank line below the heading THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF. PART A. JUDGMENT OF CONVICTION:Only one state judgment of conviction may be challenged in a single petition for writ of habeas corpus. Multiple counts which resulted in a single judgment of conviction may be challenged in the same petition for writ of habeas corpus. If you wish to challenge more than one judgment, however, you must file separate habeas corpus petit
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