WILLIAMS v. STATE OF GEORGIA et al
Filing
2
MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by Judge Noel L. Hillman on 3/20/2017. (tf, n.m.)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
______________________________
:
PETER RAYMOND WILLIAMS,
:
:
Petitioner,
:
:
v.
:
:
STATE OF GEORGIA, et al.,
:
:
Respondents.
:
______________________________:
Civ. Action No. 17-481 (NLH)
MEMORANDUM OPINION
IT APPEARING THAT:
1.
Petitioner Peter Raymond Williams (“Petitioner”) has
filed a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus Pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 2241 before this Court. (ECF No. 1.)
2.
While the Petition contains a long recitation of the
procedural history of Petitioner’s various criminal matters in
the states of New York, New Jersey and Georgia, as well as the
federal system, it remains unclear to this Court as to the exact
challenges he is raising and the relief Petitioner is seeking
from this Court.
3.
It appears that Petitioner may be attempting to
challenge a sentence imposed by the State of Georgia.
(Pet. 3.)
To the extent that is correct, Petitioner must first exhaust any
claims in Georgia state court and then file a federal habeas
petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the appropriate Georgia
district court.
4.
See 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d).
To the extent Petitioner is challenging a New Jersey or
New York state court conviction, if he has properly exhausted
any challenges with the respective state courts, see Rose v.
Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 515 (1982); Lambert v. Blackwell, 134 F.3d
506, 513 (3d Cir. 1997), he may then file petition for a writ of
habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 with the proper New
York district court to challenge his New York state sentence or
this Court to challenge his New Jersey state sentence.
5.
To the Petitioner is challenging a federal sentence,
“motions pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 are the presumptive means
by which federal prisoners can challenge their convictions or
sentences that are allegedly in violation of the Constitution.”
Okereke v. United States, 307 F.3d 117, 120 (3d Cir. 2002).
Motions pursuant to § 2255 are filed with the court that imposed
the sentence.
28 U.S.C. § 2255(a).
Therefore, if Petitioner
wishes to challenge his conviction or sentence, he must file a §
2255 motion with the federal district court where he was
convicted and sentenced.
6.
To the extent Petitioner is challenging the calculation
of a federal sentence, Section 2241 “confers habeas jurisdiction
to hear the petition of a federal prisoner who is challenging
not the validity but the execution of his sentence.”
Vaughn, 251 F.3d 480, 485 (3d Cir. 2001).
Coady v.
Jurisdiction over a §
2241 habeas petition is limited to the district where the
petitioner is being held in custody. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(a); Braden
v. 30th Judicial Circuit Court, 410 U.S. 484, 500 (1973)
(personal jurisdiction over a federal habeas corpus petition
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 lies in the federal judicial
district in which the custodian of the petitioner resides).
Therefore, to the extent Petitioner is challenging the execution
of any federal sentence, he must file a § 2241 petition with the
district where he is being held in custody.1
7.
Finally, the Court notes that the filing fee for a
petition for writ of habeas corpus is $5.00.
Pursuant to Local
Civil Rule 54.3(a), the filing fee is required to be paid at the
time the petition is presented for filing.
Pursuant to Local
Civil Rule 81.2(b), whenever a prisoner submits a petition for
writ of habeas and seeks to proceed in forma pauperis, that
petitioner must submit (a) an affidavit setting forth
information which establishes that the petitioner is unable to
Petitioner alleges that he is being held at a prison on a
“Joint Base within County of Burlington, N.J.,” which suggest
the federal correctional facility at Fort Dix. However, the
address listed on the docket is located in Pennsylvania. (Pet.
3.)
1
pay the fees and costs of the proceedings, and (b) a
certification signed by an authorized officer of the institution
certifying (1) the amount presently on deposit in the prisoner's
prison account and, (2) the greatest amount on deposit in the
prisoners institutional account during the six-month period
prior to the date of the certification.
If the institutional
account of the petitioner exceeds $200, the petitioner shall not
be considered eligible to proceed in forma pauperis. L. CIV. R.
81.2(c).
Here, Petitioner did not prepay the $5.00 filing fee for a
habeas petition as required by Local Civil Rule 54.3(a), nor did
Petitioner submit an application for leave to proceed in forma
pauperis.
8.
In light of the foregoing, the Court will
administratively terminate this matter.2
To aid Petitioner when
he is determining how to proceed, the Court will summarize the
options outlined in this Opinion:
Such an administrative termination is not a “dismissal” for
purposes of the statute of limitations, and if the case is reopened pursuant to the terms of the accompanying Order, it is not
subject to the statute of limitations time bar if it was originally
submitted timely. See Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266 (1988)
(prisoner mailbox rule); Papotto v. Hartford Life & Acc. Ins. Co.,
731 F.3d 265, 275-76 (3d Cir. 2013) (collecting cases and
explaining that a District Court retains jurisdiction over, and
can re-open, administratively closed cases).
2
If Petitioner is challenging a sentence
imposed by the State of New Jersey or the State
of New York, and he has properly exhausted any
challenges with the respective state courts,
he may then file a petition for a writ of
habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254
with the proper New York district court to
challenge his New York state sentence, or this
Court to challenge his New Jersey state
sentence.
If Petitioner is challenging a federal
conviction or sentence, he must file a motion
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 with the court
that imposed the sentence.
9.
If Petitioner is challenging a sentence
imposed by the State of Georgia, Petitioner
must exhaust any claims in Georgia state court
and then file a federal habeas petition
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the
appropriate Georgia district court.
If Petitioner is challenging the calculation
of a federal sentence, and he is being held in
custody in the District of New Jersey, he must
file an amended § 2241 Petition with this
Court which clearly and explicitly identifies
his claims for relief. If he is challenging
the calculation of a federal sentence but is
being held in custody in another jurisdiction,
he must file his § 2241 petition in that
district. He must also submit the $ 5 filing
or a complete in forma pauperis application.
An appropriate order follows.
Dated: March 20, 2017
At Camden, New Jersey
s/ Noel L. Hillman
NOEL L. HILLMAN, U.S.D.J.
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