KEYES v. OVERMEYER et al

Filing 4

OPINION & ORDER that the Clerk shall TRANSFER THIS CASE to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Signed by Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter on 10/18/17. (lrw)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
MALCOLM KEYES
Petitioner,
v.
MICHAEL OVERMEYER, et al.,
Respondents.

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Civil Action No. 17-262 Erie

Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter

OPINION AND ORDER
The Petitioner, Malcolm Keyes, is incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution Forest ("SCI
Forest"). He has filed with this Court a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254
in which he is challenging a judgment of sentence imposed upon him by the Court of Common Pleas of
Philadelphia County at docket CP-51-CR-1206181-2005. SCI Forest is located within the territorial
boundaries of this District. Philadelphia County is located within the territorial boundaries of the United
States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 28 U.S.C. § 118.
When a state prisoner files a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in a state like Pennsylvania, that
contains two or more Federal judicial districts,
the application may be filed in the district court for the district wherein such person is in
custody or in the district court for the district within which the State court was held which
convicted and sentenced him and each of such district courts shall have concurrent
jurisdiction to entertain the application. The district court for the district wherein such
an application is filed in the exercise of its discretion and in furtherance of justice
may transfer the application to the other district court for hearing and
determination.
28 U.S.C. § 2241(d) (emphasis added).
The Petitioner was tried, convicted, and sentenced in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia
County and, therefore, most, if not all, of the relevant activity occurred within the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania. This Court finds that the furtherance of justice, as well as the convenience of the parties,
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would be better served by transferring this case to the Eastern District Court. This decision is in
accordance with the agreed practice of the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and
Western Districts of Pennsylvania, which is to transfer habeas petitions filed by state prisoners in their
respective districts to the district in which the county where the judgment of sentence was had is located.
An appropriate Order follows.

Dated: October 18, 2017

/s/ Susan Paradise Baxter
SUSAN PARADISE BAXTER
United States Magistrate Judge

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
MALCOLM KEYES
Petitioner,
v.
MICHAEL OVERMEYER, et al.,
Respondents.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Civil Action No. 17-262 Erie

Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter

ORDER
AND NOW, this 18th day of October, 2017;
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk shall TRANSFER THIS CASE to the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

/s/ Susan Paradise Baxter
SUSAN PARADISE BAXTER
United States Magistrate Judge

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