Being held somewhere you should not be is a problem that will not wait, and every day without a plan can close off options that were open yesterday.
Jeffrey S. Weiner, P.A. has worked through exactly this kind of problem in Miami since 1974. Jeffrey S. Weiner, a a criminal trial lawyer board certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and a Miami habeas corpus lawyer, built his career on testing whether the government’s hold on someone is lawful.
He personally argued the search and seizure case Florida v. Jimeno before the United States Supreme Court in 1991, rare experience for a private Miami criminal defense attorney. That background means a petition gets built by someone who has argued at the highest level our courts offer. Reach out to talk through whether a habeas petition fits your situation.
A writ of habeas corpus asks a judge to look at why a person is being held and decide if the custody is lawful. We handle these petitions, and the related post-conviction motions that often come with them, for a range of problems, including:
Every one of these problems moves on its own deadline, and missing one can close the door on relief before a judge ever hears the argument.
Our attorneys have tried cases in more than 25 states and argued before the Florida Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. Wherever your case stands right now, we've likely stood there before — with a client's freedom on the line.
Call Us Today 305-670-9919
What happens if someone waits too long to challenge a conviction or a sentence? Under federal law, a person convicted in a Florida court generally has one year to file a federal habeas corpus petition after the conviction becomes final. That limit is set out in 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d), which was added by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.
That year is not much time. It starts once the direct appeal ends and the clock does not pause just because someone is still looking for a lawyer. Filing a state post-conviction motion first can pause that federal clock while it is pending, but it does not reset it.
A mistake on timing can mean a federal court never looks at the facts and law behind a strong claim. For someone in custody right now, this is usually the deadline that matters most, because once it passes, asking a federal judge to review a Florida conviction is rarely an option anymore.
Building a habeas petition means reading the full record of a case, identifying which claims were preserved for review, and arguing those claims in the court that actually has the power to grant relief. That is the same work this firm has done in federal and state courts in Miami for more than 50 years.
Jeffrey S. Weiner has practiced in Miami since founding this firm in 1974, after starting his career as a Special Assistant Public Defender for Miami-Dade County, work that put him in the same courtrooms where many habeas claims begin.
He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and seven federal circuit courts of appeal, a reach that matters once a case moves from a Florida circuit court into federal habeas review.
He served as President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and President of the Florida Criminal Defense Attorneys Association. Association. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers also gave him its Robert C. Heeney Award in 1985, an honor given to one attorney nationwide each year.
A Florida habeas corpus petition is generally filed with the circuit court in the county where the person is held, under Fla. Stat. § 79.01, the law that lets a person detained without lawful authority ask a judge for relief.
In Miami-Dade, the criminal division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court sits at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on NW 12th Street, where circuit judges hear felony cases and most state post-conviction motions get filed and decided.
Once Florida’s state court process has run its course, a federal habeas corpus petition moves to the Southern District of Florida, based in the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse in downtown Miami, with appeals going to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Each of these courts applies its own rules about which claims it can hear and how a petition has to be written, and filing in the wrong one can waste months a petitioner may not have.
Serving Criminal Defense Clients for Over 50 Years
If someone is in custody and believes the detention is unlawful, timing works against them the longer they wait. Federal habeas petitions run on a strict one-year clock, and state deadlines move on their own schedule too. An attorney can tell you quickly whether your situation fits a habeas claim or a different kind of post-conviction motion, and can start protecting the record while there is still time. Waiting to find out does not pause any deadline that is already running.
A direct appeal challenges mistakes that appear in the trial record, decided by the same court system that handled the original case. A habeas corpus petition goes further, asking a court to decide whether the custody itself violates the Constitution or federal law, often based on evidence or arguments outside that original record. In most cases, the direct appeal has to be finished, or the time for one has to run out, before a habeas claim can move forward.
Yes, and in many cases that state motion has to come first. Florida generally requires someone to raise claims like ineffective assistance of counsel in the sentencing court before those same claims can go to federal habeas review. Filing the state motion also pauses the federal one-year clock while it is pending, which is one reason the order and timing of these filings matter.
It depends on the stage of the case. If the person is held in Miami-Dade, a state habeas petition generally goes to the circuit court at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building. A post-conviction motion generally goes to the court that sentenced the person. Once those state options are used up, a federal habeas corpus petition is filed with the Southern District of Florida in downtown Miami, not back at the state courthouse.
There is no fixed timeline. Federal habeas cases in the Southern District of Florida can take many months to reach a ruling once briefing, any evidentiary hearing, and the court’s own caseload are factored in. Some petitions are decided on the written record alone, while others move slower if the judge orders a hearing on disputed facts.
Relief depends on the claim. A judge might order a new trial, a new sentencing hearing, release from custody, or correction of an illegal sentence, depending on what the petition proved. Granting a petition does not always mean the case disappears. It often means the case goes back to the trial court for further proceedings.
No. Jeffrey S. Weiner, P.A. offers a free consultation to review the custody, the timeline, and whether a habeas corpus claim or a different post-conviction motion fits the situation. There is no cost to have that first conversation and understand the options.
Courts look for a clear constitutional or legal violation, not just disagreement with how a case turned out. Claims that tend to succeed point to something specific, such as a right that was violated, evidence that was never heard, or a sentence that goes beyond what the law allows, backed by the record or new evidence a court can actually review.
A habeas corpus claim does not get stronger by waiting, and the deadlines involved do not pause for anyone. Jeffrey S. Weiner, P.A. has spent more than 50 years testing whether custody in Miami is lawful, and that experience starts working the moment a petition is being planned.
A free consultation is the fastest way to find out what options are still open in a case like this. Contact us today to talk through your situation and the deadlines that may already be running.
You may call our office 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are always ready to consult with you, whether
by telephone consultation, a meeting in our office, or a visit if you are incarcerated. All communications
are confidential and protected by the attorney-client privilege.
“*“Indicates Required Fields
"*" indicates required fields
Two Datran Center, Suite 1910
9130 South Dadeland Boulevard
Miami, FL 33156
Copyright © 2026 Jeffrey S. Weiner, P.A. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer | Site Map | Privacy Policy.
*Images are obtained under license from Canva and other third-party stock image providers, with attribution included where required.
Digital Marketing By: 
