Taylor v. Smith

Filing 4

ORDER of Dismissal. Signed by Judge Edward M. Chen on 6/9/2017. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service). (emcsec, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/9/2017)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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KEITH DESMOND TAYLOR,
Plaintiff,

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Case No. 17-cv-00809-EMC
ORDER OF DISMISSAL

v.

Docket No. 1
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Defendant.

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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MICHAEL SMITH,

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Plaintiff, an inmate on death row at San Quentin State Prison, filed this action under 42

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U.S.C. § 1983 against the judge who presided over his death penalty case in San Bernardino

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County Superior Court in 1996. Plaintiff alleges that Judge Smith erroneously allowed certain

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fingerprint evidence at the trial in 1996. Plaintiff requests damages and release from custody.

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Docket No. 1 at 3.

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The complained-of events and omissions occurred in San Bernardino County, which is

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located within the venue of the Central District of California. The only defendant apparently

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resides in San Bernardino County. No defendant is alleged to reside in, and none of the events or

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omissions giving rise to the complaint occurred in, the Northern District of California. Venue

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therefore would be proper in the Central District, and not in this one. See 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b).

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The court “shall dismiss, or if it be in the interest of justice, transfer” an action that has been filed

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in the wrong venue. 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). This is the third time Plaintiff has filed an action

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against Judge Smith for alleged errors in the trial in San Bernardino County Superior Court. In the

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first action against Judge Smith, Taylor v. Smith, et al., N. D. Cal. No. 09-cv-3009 MMC, the

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claims against Judge Smith were dismissed as filed in the wrong venue and without prejudice to

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Plaintiff filing an action in the Central District. The second action against Judge Smith, Taylor v.

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Smith, N.D. Cal. No. 13-cv-4550 EMC, was dismissed as filed in the wrong venue, with an

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explanation that transfer was not appropriate since Plaintiff already had been informed that the

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Central District, rather than the Northern District, of California was the proper venue for his

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claims. In light of the earlier orders explaining that the Northern District is not the correct venue

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for an action against Judge Smith, there was no reason for Plaintiff to repeat his mistake. It is not

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in the interest of justice to transfer this action because it unnecessarily consumes limited judicial

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resources for the transferring court to process a case filed by a plaintiff who knowingly files his

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case in the wrong district.

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Accordingly, this action is DISMISSED because it was filed in the wrong venue. This
dismissal is without prejudice to Plaintiff pursuing his claims in the Central District of California.

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The Clerk shall close the file.

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: June 9, 2017
______________________________________
EDWARD M. CHEN
United States District Judge

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