Crosby v. Jordan et al
Filing
8
MEMORANDUM (Order to follow as separate docket entry).Signed by Honorable Malachy E Mannion on 2/21/17. (bs)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
GREGORY D. CROSBY,
:
Petitioner
: CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:16-2456
v
:
(JUDGE MANNION)
DAVID J. EBBERT,
Respondent
:
:
MEMORANDUM
I. Background
Petitioner, Gregory D. Crosby, an inmate confined in the United States
Penitentiary Florence (“USP-Florence”), Colorado,1 filed the instant petition for
writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §2241. (Doc. 1). He seeks, inter
alia, the restoration of good conduct time and expungement of his incident
report. Id. For the reasons outlined below, the petition will be transferred to the
United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
II. Discussion
“The federal habeas corpus statute straightforwardly provides that the
1. Petitioner was transferred from the Special Management Unit at USPLewisburg on October 31, 2016, and arrived at USP-Florence on November 4,
2016. (Doc. 6-1 at 2).
proper respondent to a habeas petition is ‘the person who has custody over [the
petitioner]. 28 U.S.C. §2242, see also §2243. . . .’[T]hese provisions contemplate
a proceeding against some person who has the immediate custody of the party
detained, with the power to produce the body of such party before the court or
judge, that he may be liberated if no sufficient reason is shown to the contrary.”
Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 433-436 (2004)(citations omitted). In Padilla,
the Court added that “[t]he plain language of the habeas statute thus confirms
the general rule that for core habeas petitions challenging present physical
confinement, jurisdiction lies in only one district; the district of confinement.” Id.
at 442. The district court must have personal jurisdiction over the petitioner’s
custodian. Braden v. 30th Judicial Circuit of Kentucky, 410 U.S. 484, 495 (1973).
This Court does not have that jurisdiction.
However, notwithstanding the issue of jurisdiction, a court may transfer any
civil action for the convenience of the parties or witnesses, or in the interest of
justice, to any district where the action might have been brought. 28 U.S.C.
§1404(a); See also, Braden, 410 U.S. at 495. Because habeas proceedings are
generally considered civil in nature, see Hinton v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 776
(1987), the term “civil action” includes habeas petitions. Parrott v. Government
of Virgin Islands, 230 F.3d 615, 620 (3d Cir. 2000).
2
Title 28 U.S.C. §1631(a) states, in relevant part, that whenever a civil
action is filed in a court that lacks jurisdiction, “the court shall, if it is in the
interests of justice, transfer such action ... to any other court in which the action
... could have been brought at the time it was filed.” Here, transfer of the habeas
action to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado is in the
interest of justice because it is the proper district where it should have been filed
initially. See 28 U.S.C. §1631. A separate Order will be issued.
s/ Malachy E. Mannion
MALACHY E. MANNION
United States District Judge
Dated: February 21, 2017
O:\Mannion\shared\MEMORANDA - DJ\CIVIL MEMORANDA\2016 MEMORANDA\16-2456-01.wpd
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