Alejandro Morales v. Neil McDowell

Filing 6

ORDER TRANSFERRING CASE to the Central District of California, Eastern Division signed by Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin on 7/22/2015. (Jessen, A) [Transferred from California Eastern on 7/24/2015.]

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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ALEJANDRO MORALES,

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Case No. 1:15-cv-01051- GSA-HC

Petitioner,

ORDER TRANSFERING CASE TO THE
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA,
EASTERN DIVISION

v.
NEIL MCDOWELL,
Respondent.

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Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding with a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant

18 to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. On July 9, 2015, Petitioner filed the instant petition for writ of habeas
19 corpus in this Court challenging his disciplinary convictions for manufacturing alcohol and
20 resisting a peace officer. Petitioner has consented to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate Judge
21 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). (ECF No. 5).
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When a prisoner files a state habeas petition in a state that contains two or more federal

23 judicial districts, the petition may be filed in either the judicial district in which the petitioner is
24 presently confined or the judicial district in which he was convicted and sentenced. See 28
25 U.S.C. § 2241(d); Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 442 (2004) (quoting Carbo v. United
26 States, 364 U.S. 611, 618, 81 S. Ct. 338, 5 L. Ed. 2d 329 (1961)). Petitions challenging
27 convictions or sentences are preferably heard in the district of conviction. See Laue v. Nelson,
28 279 F.Supp. 265, 266 (N.D.Cal. 1968). Petitions challenging the execution of a sentence are

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1 preferably heard in the district where the inmate is confined. See Dunne v. Henman, 875 F.2d
2 244, 249 (9th Cir. 1989). Section 2241 further states that, rather than dismissing an improperly
3 filed action, a district court, “in the exercise of its discretion and in furtherance of justice[,] may
4 transfer” the habeas petition to another federal district for hearing and determination. Id.; see
5 also 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) (court may transfer any civil action “to any other district or division
6 where it might have been brought” for convenience of parties or “in the interest of justice”).
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The instant petition attacks a disciplinary conviction and associated loss of credit which

8 amounts to a challenge to the execution of Petitioner’s sentence. Petitioner is presently confined
9 at Ironwood State Prison, which is in Riverside County, which is within the jurisdictional
10 boundaries of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Eastern
11 Division. See 28 U.S.C. § 84(c)(1). Therefore, venue is proper in the Central District of
12 California, Eastern Division.
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Accordingly, the Court HEREBY ORDERS that the petition for writ of habeas corpus be

14 TRANSFERED to the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Eastern
15 Division.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

July 22, 2015

/s/ Gary S. Austin
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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