Cunningham v. Valenzuela

Filing 7

ORDER TRANSFERRING CASE to the Central District of California. Signed by Judge Vince Chhabria on 5/24/2016. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service)(knm, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/24/2016)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

THOMAS R. CUNNINGHAM,

Case No. 16-cv-01518-VC (PR)

Petitioner,
ORDER OF TRANSFER

v.
E. VALENZUELA,
Respondent.

Thomas R. Cunningham, a state prisoner incarcerated at California Men’s Colony,
located in San Luis Obispo, California, has filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging the validity of his sentence imposed in San Luis
Obispo Superior Court.
A federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus made by a person in custody under the
judgment and sentence of a state court is properly filed in either the district of confinement or the
district of conviction. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d). The district court where the petition is filed may
transfer the petition to the other district in the furtherance of justice. Id. Federal courts in
California traditionally have chosen to hear petitions challenging a conviction or sentence in the
district of conviction. Dannenberg v. Ingle, 831 F. Supp. 767, 767 (N.D. Cal. 1993).
Cunningham was convicted and sentenced in the San Luis Obispo Superior Court, which
lies within the venue of the Central District of California. 28 U.S.C. § 84(b). He is incarcerated
in San Luis Obispo County, which also lies within the venue of the Central District of California.
Thus, jurisdiction over the petition exists in the Central District of California, not in this district.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) and Habeas L.R. 2254-3(b), and in the interest of justice,
the Clerk of the Court is ordered to TRANSFER this action forthwith to the United States

District Court for the Central District of California.
All pending motions are TERMINATED on this Court’s docket.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: May 24, 2016
______________________________________
VINCE CHHABRIA
United States District Judge

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