Soper v. Heinricy

Filing 3

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER. (See Full Order.) Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631, a district court that finds that it lacks jurisdiction to entertain a civil action may, if it is in the interest of justice, transfer such action to any other court in whic h such action could have been brought. Upon transfer under § 1631, the action proceeds as if it had been originally filed in the court to which it is transferred. Because the Court finds it in the interest of justice to do so, the Court transfers this case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. (Case to be transferred after 5/23/2022.) Signed by District Judge Stephen R. Clark on 5/9/2022. (CBL)

Case: 4:22-cv-00192-SRC Doc. #: 3 Filed: 05/09/22 Page: 1 of 3 PageID #: 15

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
JOSHUA A. SOPER,

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Petitioner,
v.
MIKE HEINRICY,
Respondent.

Case No. 4:22-cv-00192-SRC

Memorandum and Order
Joshua Soper, currently incarcerated at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center, filed
a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Doc. 1. Petitioner seeks extradition
to Clark County, Missouri to face pending state criminal charges. Reviewing the petition, the
Court finds that, in the interest of justice, it should transfer this case to the United States District
Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
Soper signed his habeas petition on February 6, 2022, and the Court received the petition
on February 15, 2022. Doc. 1 at pp. 1, 8. Soper states that he is currently serving an Iowa state
court sentence, imposed on January 2, 2022, at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in
Coralville, Iowa. Id. at p. 1. Soper asks that he be “extradited” or “brought to” Clark County,
Missouri “to get existing charges taken care of” while he is incarcerated. Id. at pp. 2, 5, 7.
Soper provides no details of his pending Missouri charges, but an independent review of
Missouri Case.net, Missouri’s online docketing system, 1 shows a criminal complaint filed
against a “Joshua Allen Soper” on January 19, 2022, in Clark County, Missouri. See State v.

The Court takes judicial notice of these public state records. See Levy v. Ohl, 477 F.3d 988, 991 (8th Cir. 2007);
Stutzka v. McCarville, 420 F.3d 757, 761 n.2 (8th Cir. 2005).
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Soper, No. 22CK-CR00012 (1st Mo. Cir. Ct. 2022). The complaint contains seven charges
including drug possession and trafficking, weapons offenses, and motor-vehicle violations. After
Soper failed to appear at a February 10, 2022, hearing in the case, the state court issued a warrant
for his arrest. There is no indication in the state court record that Soper has notified the Missouri
court that he is currently incarcerated in Iowa.
Soper seeks relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241; however, jurisdiction over a petition for writ
of habeas corpus brought under that statute lies either in the district of the petitioner’s physical
confinement or in the district in which a custodian responsible for the petitioner’s confinement is
present. McCoy v. U.S. Bd. of Parole, 537 F.2d 962, 964 (8th Cir. 1976). According to the
Supreme Court, “[w]henever a § 2241 habeas petitioner seeks to challenge his present physical
custody within the United States, he should name his warden as respondent and file the petition
in the district of confinement.” Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 447 (2004).
Soper is not confined within the Eastern District of Missouri, nor does Soper’s custodian
appear present in this district. Thus, the Court lacks jurisdiction over Soper’s petition. Instead,
Soper is incarcerated in a facility in Coralville, Iowa, located in Johnson County, within the
Southern District of Iowa. See 28 U.S.C. § 95(b)(5). The United States District Court for that
district has jurisdiction to hear Soper’s petition.

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Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631, a district court that finds that it lacks jurisdiction to
entertain a civil action may, if it is in the interest of justice, transfer such action to any other
court in which such action could have been brought. Upon transfer under § 1631, the action
proceeds as if it had been originally filed in the court to which it is transferred. Because the
Court finds it in the interest of justice to do so, the Court transfers this case to the United States
District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
So Ordered this 9th day of May 2022.

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STEPHEN R. CLARK
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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