Prisoners use these motions. The Anti-Terrorism Act of 1996 has revised habeas corpus proceedings. The law creates a new one-year statue of limitation for filing. In the past, Section 2255 motions could be made at any time. Now, however, there are significant time restrictions.
Many people raise the ineffective assistance of counsel issue.
The court didn't have the jurisdiction to impose such a sentence. The sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law. The sentence is otherwise subject to collateral attack. The court can grant relief if the conviction is void for lack of personal or subject matter jurisdiction, the conviction is unconstitutional, multiple sentences were imposed for a single violation or the sentence authorizes a punishment in excess of the maximum authorized by law. The two most important cases dealing with ineffective assistance of counsel are United States v. Cronic and Strickland v. Washington .