First, a U.S.C. § 2254 allows us to file a petition for Habeas Corpus when the client is in custody under sentence of a state court and is in a state prison. A 2254 petition must be filed in the federal district court that has jurisdiction over the county where the conviction occurred.Designed to challenge judgments and demonstrate grounds for relief, this form is a step toward petitioning for a review of the petitioner's case. Exhausted your rights of appeal at the state level? Consider filing a 2254 Writ of Habeas Corpus. Following the state court's denial of the petition, Panetti filed another federal habeas petition under § 2254. Attached at the end of this packet are the forms necessary to file in either the Western or Eastern District Courts of. Kentucky. However, if the defendant wants to preserve the right to file postconviction claims in federal court pursuant to a 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition, the rule. By contrast, the federal habeas corpus statute. (28 U.S.C. § 2254) requires that state prisoners first exhaust their state law remedies.