POST-CONVICTION · STATEWIDE OREGON
Post-Conviction Relief & Habeas Corpus
The deadline for post-conviction relief is two years — but it's wise to treat it as though it's only one year. There's also a separate one-year federal habeas deadline that starts when your appeal ends. It pauses while a post-conviction case is pending, but the time before you file still counts — so waiting can quietly narrow your options. If you're thinking about challenging a conviction, the best time to reach out is now, while every option is still on the table.
• Free 15 minute call to discuss your options
THE BASICS
What post-conviction relief is
Post-conviction relief — PCR — is a new case, filed in a trial court, that challenges a conviction based on a violation of your rights. It is not a second appeal. An appeal argues that the trial judge made a legal mistake on the record. Post-conviction reaches the problems the record doesn't show — a lawyer who failed you, or a guilty plea you never really understood. Unlike an appeal, post-conviction can also take in new evidence — things that were never part of the trial record.
In Oregon, a petition generally has to be filed within two years. There are narrow exceptions, but you should never count on one. If you think something went wrong, the time to ask is now.
Oregon deadline
A post-conviction petition should be filed as soon as possible. Don't wait the full two years to find out where you stand.
COMMON GROUNDS
When post-conviction relief applies
Most petitions come down to one of a few problems with how the case was handled.
Your previous lawyer
Ineffective assistance of counsel
The most common ground — a lawyer whose serious errors affected the outcome: missed evidence, bad advice, or no real defense at all.
Your plea
A plea you didn't understand
If you pleaded guilty without truly understanding what you were giving up, or on bad advice, that plea can be challenged.
Your rights
Other violations of your rights
Newly discovered evidence and constitutional violations that the trial record simply can't show.
THE NEXT STEP
Federal habeas corpus
When state remedies are used up, federal habeas corpus is the next door: a petition asking a federal court to decide whether your conviction or sentence violates the U.S. Constitution. For a state conviction, that's a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254; for a federal conviction, it's 28 U.S.C. § 2255. The rules are technical and the deadlines are unforgiving. Habeas is its own discipline — and it's work I do.
EASY TO CONFUSE
Appeal or post-conviction — which is it?
Post-conviction relief usually comes after an appeal — and a missed deadline on one can close the other.
How post-conviction relief and an appeal differ, and which comes first:
Appeal or Post-Conviction Relief? The Difference in Oregon →
The step that usually comes first, on the trial judge's mistakes:
Criminal appeals →
Every way to challenge a conviction in Oregon, start to finish:
Can a Criminal Conviction Be Overturned in Oregon? →
Usually first
An appeal
Challenges mistakes the trial judge made, on the record. The deadline is very short.
Usually after
Post-conviction
Challenges violations of your rights that the record doesn't show. It usually comes after an appeal, but doesn't require one.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Find quick answers
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Generally two years from when the conviction becomes final. The exceptions are narrow, so don't rely on them — the safest move is to ask early.
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More than a lawyer you didn't like. It means serious errors by your attorney, and a reasonable likelihood the outcome would have been different without them.
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Yes. A plea entered without understanding its consequences, or on bad advice, can be challenged.
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No. An appeal challenges the trial judge's mistakes on the record; post-conviction reaches rights violations the record doesn't show. Many cases need both.
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A petition asking a court — state or federal — to decide whether a person is being held in violation of their rights.