Rule PC1. Section 12. Successive Petitions

(a) A petitioner may request a second, or successive, Petition for Post-Conviction Relief by completing a properly and legibly completed Successive Post-Conviction Relief Rule 1 Petition Form in substantial compliance with the form appended to this Rule. Both the Successive Post-Conviction Relief Rule 1 Petition Form and the proposed successive petition for post-conviction relief shall be sent to the Clerk of the Indiana Supreme Court, Indiana Court of Appeals, and Tax Court.

    
    (b) If the pleadings conclusively show that the petitioner is entitled to no relief, the court will decline to authorize the filing of the petition. The court will authorize the filing of the petition if the petitioner establishes a reasonable possibility that the petitioner is entitled to post-conviction relief. In making this determination, the court may consider applicable law, the petition, and materials from the petitioner’s prior appellate and post-conviction proceedings including the record, briefs and court decisions, and any other material the court deems relevant.

    (c) Otherwise, the court will (1) authorize the petition If the court authorizes the filing of the petition, it is to be (1) filed in the court where the petitioner’s first post-conviction relief petition was adjudicated for consideration pursuant to this rule by the same judge if that judge is available, and (2) refer the petition referred to the State Public Defender, who may represent the petitioner as provided in Section 9(a) of this Rule. Authorization to file a successive petition is not a determination on the merits for any other purpose and does not preclude summary disposition pursuant to Section (4)(g) of this Rule.

APPENDIX TO RULE PC1

FORM FOR SUCCESSIVE POST-CONVICTION RELIEF RULE 1 PETITIONS

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INSTRUCTIONS--READ CAREFULLY

    If you have previously filed a Petition for Post-Conviction Relief directed to this conviction or these convictions and the earlier petition was decided on the merits, you must fill out this form and file it along with your Petition. It must be legibly handwritten or typewritten, signed by the petitioner before a person authorized to take oaths and properly notarized. Since this must be signed under oath, any false statement of a material fact herein may serve as the basis of prosecution and conviction for perjury. Exercise care to be sure all answers are true and correct.

    A second or successive petition for post-conviction relief may be dismissed (1) if the court finds that it fails to allege new or different grounds for relief and the prior petition was determined on the merits, or (2) if new and different grounds are alleged and the court finds that failure to raise these grounds in the prior petition constituted an abuse of the post-conviction process.

    You must mail the original and two copies of this form along with your petition to the Clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, 200 West Washington Street, Room 217, Indianapolis, IN 46204-2732. The Clerk will refer your petition to the Supreme Court in death penalty cases and the Indiana Court of Appeals in all other cases. The court will then decide whether your petition may be filed in the trial court where your first Post-Conviction Remedy Rule 1 petition was adjudicated.

    NOTE: The court will allow a second or successive petition for post-conviction relief to be filed if the petitioner establishes a reasonable possibility that the petitioner is entitled to post-conviction relief. However, a petitioner does not establish a reasonable possibility that the petitioner is entitled to post-conviction relief where, for example, (1 ) if the petitioner only alleges grounds for relief that are not different from those which have already been decided on the merits, or (2) if the only grounds alleged, even if different, should have been alleged in an earlier proceeding.

    Additional pages are not permitted except to state facts in support of your answers. Any citation of authorities should be avoided and is only appropriate if there has been a change in the law since the judgment you were attacking was entered. Your answer(s) should be confined to relevant facts and must not include legal arguments.

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This amendment shall take effect on January 1, 2001 and shall apply to requests for authorization to file a successive post-conviction relief petition filed on or after that date.

    The Clerk of this Court is directed to forward a copy of this Order to: the Clerk of each Circuit Court in the State of Indiana; the Attorney General of Indiana; the Commissioner of the Department of Correction for posting at all prison libraries; the Legislative Services Agency; the Office of Code Revision, Legislative Services Agency; Administrator, Supreme Court of Indiana; Administrator, Indiana Court of Appeals; Administrator, Indiana Tax Court; Public Defender of Indiana; Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission; Indiana Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education; Indiana Board of Law Examiners; Indiana Judicial Center; Division of State Court Administration; the libraries of all law schools in the state; the Michie Company; and West Publishing Company.
West Publishing Company is directed to publish this Order in the advance sheets of the Court.
The Clerks of the Circuit Courts are directed to bring this Order to the attention of all Judges within their respective counties and to post this Order for examination by the Bar and general public.
Done at Indianapolis, Indiana, this ______ day of December, 2000.

                            FOR THE SUPREME COURT

                    
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                            Randall T. Shepard
                            Chief Justice of Indiana

All Justices concur.