FALCON v. INCH et al

Filing 14

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER that this action is hereby TRANSFERRED to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Signed by Judge Noel L. Hillman on 3/19/2018. (tf, n.m.) [Transferred from New Jersey on 3/20/2018.]

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
______________________________
:
:
:
Petitioner,
:
:
v.
:
:
DIRECTOR MARK INCH,
:
:
Respondent.
:
______________________________:
NICK FALCON,

Civ. No. 17-11762 (NLH)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

It appearing that:
1.

Petitioner Nick Falcon is currently in the protective

custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at an unknown location.
He brings this pro se Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus,
under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging a 2013 Gwinnett County,
Georgia Superior Court conviction for aggravated assault,
robbery, possession of a firearm during a felony and possession
of a firearm by a felon.
2.

ECF No. 1 (filed under seal).

The Court issued an order entered December 12, 2017,

ECF No. 2, ordering the Respondent to file a limited answer
addressing whether this matter should be transferred to the U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of Georgia because
Petitioner seeks to challenge a conviction from Gwinnett County
Superior Court in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

See generally

Verissimo v. I.N.S., 204 F. Supp. 2d 818, 820 (D.N.J. 2002)
(citing 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a); Braden v. 30th Judicial Circuit

Court, 410 U.S. 484, 493–94 (1973))(courts may transfer a habeas
corpus action “for the convenience of parties and witnesses to
any other district where it might have been brought”).
3.

The Respondent filed a limited answer, in which he

asserts that “given the nature of Petitioner’s allegations,”
“the interests of justice would be best served by transferring
the Petition to the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of Georgia.”
4.

ECF No. 13 (filed under seal).

The Petitioner has not objected to the transfer of his

Petition.
5.

The Court finds that it is in the interest of justice

as well as for the convenience of the parties and witnesses to
transfer this action to the Northern District of Georgia, where
the material events occurred, where the records and most
witnesses are located, and where the conviction and sentencing
at issue in this Petition occurred.

See ECF No. 13, Limited

Ans. (filed under seal).
Therefore, IT IS on this

19th

day of March, 2018,

ORDERED that this action is hereby TRANSFERRED to the U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of Georgia; and it is
further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall effectuate the

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transfer on an expedited basis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1406(a)
and 1631; and it is finally
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of
this Order upon Petitioner by regular U.S. mail.

s/ Noel L. Hillman
NOEL L. HILLMAN, U.S.D.J.

At Camden, New Jersey

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