Blake v. Squires et al

Filing 5

ORDER: The Civil Actions filed herein by Thomas O. Blake are hereby TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. Signed by Magistrate Judge Karen L Hayes on 10/15/2013. (crt,Haik, K)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
MONROE DIVISION
THOMAS O. BLAKE
FED. REG. # 24804-009
VS.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:13-cv-2839
SECTION P
JUDGE ROBERT G. JAMES

LT. SQUIRES, ET AL.

MAGISTRATE JUDGE KAREN L. HAYES
MEMORANDUM ORDER

Thomas O. Blake, a prisoner in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is
incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary (USP)-Hazelton, Bruceton Mills, West Virginia.
On October 2, 2013, he filed a hand-written document complaining that he is being held beyond
his scheduled release date of August 14, 2013; he also complained that he and members of his
family have been threatened by various BOP personnel at USP-Hazelton who are acting in
concert with the Mafia. In another document filed on October 11, 2013, he complained that he is
being unlawfully detained in solitary confinement at USP-Hazelton, and that he was beaten by
BOP personnel, presumably at USP-Hazelton.
The records of this Court reveal that Blake was convicted of being a felon in possession
of a firearm following his guilty plea to that charge on July 14, 2011; on November 9, 2011, he
was sentenced to serve 63 months imprisonment. United States of America v. Thomas O. Blake,
No. 3:09-cr-00034. His sentence was thereafter affirmed by the United States Fifth Circuit Court
of Appeals on August 17, 2012. USA vs. Blake, No. 11-31809.
Blake’s current filings, liberally construed, attack the manner in which his sentence is
being served as well as the conditions of confinement at USP-Hazelton. The filings clearly do not

collaterally attack the Constitutionality of his conviction and sentence and therefore do not arise
under 28 U.S.C. §2255.
To the extent that the filings attack the manner in which his sentence is being served, they
may be construed as arising under the general habeas corpus statute, 28 U.S.C. §2241. See
Warren v. Miles, 230 F.3d 688, 694 (5th Cir.2000). As such, the proper respondent is the
Warden of the prison where he is confined and venue is in the district of confinement. Rumsfeld
v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 443 (2004) (For habeas petitions challenging present physical
confinement, jurisdiction lies only in the district of confinement.)
Blake also complains about the conditions of confinement at USP-Hazelton and seeks
redress against various individuals who are apparently employees of the BOP. As such, that
portion of his claim apparently arises under Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403
U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971). (A Bivens claim is a judicially created
counterpart to a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights action and is properly brought only against federal
officials who have allegedly denied a plaintiff’s constitutional rights, in their individual
capacities. See Bivens, 403 U.S. at 390–97.) Generally, venue for Bivens claims is determined by
28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), which provides: “A civil action wherein jurisdiction is not founded solely
on diversity of citizenship may ... 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 (3) a judicial district in which
any defendant may be found, if there is no district in which the action may otherwise be
brought.” Stafford v. Briggs, 444 U.S. 527, 544, 100 S.Ct. 774, 784, 63 L.Ed.2d 1 (1980). It
appears that the defendants reside, or can be found in the judicial district where Blake is
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incarcerated; it further appears that the events giving rise to his claims occurred in that district.
In other words, read liberally, Blake seeks both habeas corpus and civil rights relief. This
Court clearly lacks jurisdiction to resolve his habeas claim; further, venue for his Bivens claims
is also inappropriate. Title 28 U.S.C. §1406(a) provides, “[T]he district court of a district in
which is filed a case laying venue in the wrong division or district shall dismiss, or if it be in the
interest of justice, transfer such case to any district or division in which it could have been
brought.” The USP-Hazelton, where Blake is currently incarcerated, is located in the Northern
District of West Virginia. That Court could exercise jurisdiction over Blake’s habeas corpus
petition and would clearly be the appropriate venue for his Bivens claims. Therefore,
The Civil Actions filed herein by Thomas O. Blake are hereby TRANSFERRED to the
United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
In Chambers, Monroe, Louisiana, October 15, 2013.

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