Dukes v. Warfield

Filing 4

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge John F. Moulds on 10/8/2009 ORDERING that this matter is TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. (Reader, L)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 vs. CAPTAIN D. MANTEL, et al., Defendants. / Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, has filed a civil action on the form for filing a petition for writ of habeas corpus in a California state court. Upon review of the petition, the court construes this action as a civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff has neither paid the filing fee of $350.00 for a civil rights action nor filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. The federal venue statute requires that a civil action, other than one based on diversity jurisdiction, be brought only in "(1) a judicial district where any defendant resides, if all defendants reside in the same State, (2) a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated, or (3) a judicial district in which any defendant may be found, if there is no district in which the action may otherwise be brought." 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). 1 ORDER MELVIN DUKES, Plaintiff, No. 2:09-cv-2294-JFM (PC) IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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Plaintiff's claims concern the conditions of his confinement at Salinas Valley State Prison in Monterey County, which is in the Northern District of California. Although it is not entirely clear, it appears that none of the defendants reside in this district. As noted above, the claims arose in Monterey County, which is in the Northern District of California. Therefore, plaintiff's claim should have been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. In the interest of justice, a federal court may transfer a complaint filed in the wrong district to the correct district. See 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a); Starnes v. McGuire, 512 F.2d 918, 932 (D.C. Cir. 1974). Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this matter is transferred to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. DATED: October 8, 2009.

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