Free Case Transferred Out to Another District - District Court of California - California

Case 3:08-cv-00015-JM-LSP

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Filed 01/15/2008

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Petitioner, a California state prisoner proceeding pro se, has filed a petition for a writ of vs. D. ADAMS, Warden, et al., Respondents. CLEO CORTINA, SR., Petitioner, ORDER TRANSFERRING ACTION TO UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, EASTERN DIVISION Civil No. 08cv0015-JM (LSP) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

18 habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Petitioner challenges a conviction from the 19 Riverside County Superior Court in Riverside, California. In accordance with the practice of 20 district courts in California, the Court transfers the Petition to the United States District Court 21 for the Central District of California, Eastern Division. 22 A petition for writ of habeas corpus may be filed in the United States District Court of

23 the judicial district in which the petitioner is presently confined or the judicial district in which 24 he was convicted and sentenced. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d); Braden v. 30th Judicial Circuit 25 Court, 410 U.S. 484, 497 (1973). Petitioner here attacks a conviction suffered in the Riverside 26 County Superior Court in Riverside, California. (Pet. at 1.) That court is located in Riverside 27 County, which is within the jurisdictional boundaries of the United States District Court for the 28 Central District of California, Eastern Division. See 28 U.S.C. § 84(c)(1). Petitioner is presently -108cv0015

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Case 3:08-cv-00015-JM-LSP

Document 2

Filed 01/15/2008

Page 2 of 2

1 confined at Corcoran State Prison in Corcoran, California. That prison is located in Kings, 2 County, California, within the jurisdictional boundaries of the United States District Court for 3 the Eastern District of California. See 28 U.S.C. § 84(b). Jurisdiction over this Petition thus 4 exists in the Central District of California, Eastern Division, and in the Eastern District of 5 California. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d). 6 Although this Court does not have jurisdiction over the action, "[u]nder a provision of the

7 Federal Courts Improvement Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1631, if a court finds that there is a want of 8 jurisdiction the court shall transfer the action to any other such court in which the action could 9 have been brought `if it is in the interest of justice.'" Miller v. Hambrick, 905 F.2d 259, 262 (9th 10 Cir. 1990) (citing In re McCauley, 814 F.2d 1350, 1351-52 (9th Cir. 1987)). The Ninth Circuit 11 has held that transferring a habeas corpus proceeding to a district with proper jurisdiction will 12 be in the interest of justice because normally dismissal of an action that could be brought 13 elsewhere is "time-consuming and justice-defeating." Miller, 905 F.2d at 262 (quoting 14 Goldlawr, Inc. v. Heiman, 369 U.S. 463, 467 (1962). Therefore, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631, 15 this Court may transfer this proceeding to a district with proper jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 16 § 2241(d). It is generally the practice of the district courts in California to transfer habeas 17 actions challenging a state conviction to the district in which a petitioner was convicted. Any 18 and all records, witnesses and evidence necessary for the resolution of a petitioner's contentions 19 are more readily available in that district. See Braden, 410 U.S. at 497, 499 n.15; Laue v. 20 Nelson, 279 F. Supp. 265, 266 (N.D. Cal. 1968). In this case, that district is the Central District 21 of California, Eastern Division. Therefore, in the furtherance of justice, 22 IT IS ORDERED that the Clerk of this Court transfer this matter to the United States

23 District Court for the Central District of California, Eastern Division. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d). 24 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of this Court serve a copy of this Order

25 upon Petitioner and upon the California Attorney General 26 DATED: January 15, 2008 27 28 Hon. Jeffrey T. Miller United States District Judge -208cv0015

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