PRATHER v. GILMORE et al

Filing 7

ORDER adopting Report and Recommendations re 5 . upon de novo review of the Report and the Objections thereto, that the Clerk's Office is to transfer this Petition forthwith to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The Report is adopted as the opinion of the court. BY. Signed by Judge Arthur J. Schwab on 5/3/18. (lck)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
JONOTHAN E. PRATHER,
Petitioner,
vs.
SUPERINTENDANT ROBERT
GILMORE; and THE ATTORNEY
GENERAL OF THE ST A TE OF
PENNSYLVANIA,

)
)
) Civil Action No. 18-498
)
) Judge Arthur J. Schwab/
) Magistrate Judge Maureen P. Kelly

)

)
)
)
)
Respondents. )

ORDER
Jonothan E. Prather ("Petitioner") is currently incarcerated in the State Correctional
Institution at Greene ("SCI-Greene"), which is located in Greene County, Pennsylvania, which is
within the territorial boundaries of the United States District Court for the Western District of
Pennsylvania. 28 U.S.C. § 118(c). Petitioner has filed a Petition Under 28 U.S.C. Subsection
2254 for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody (the "Petition"). By means of the
Petition, he challenges the validity of his conviction, which was obtained in the Court of Common
Pleas of Potter County, which is located within the territorial boundaries of the United States
District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. ECF No . 3 ~ 1(a).
The case was referred to Chief Magistrate Judge Maureen Kelly in accordance with the
Magistrate Judges Act, 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(l), and Local Civil Rules 72.C and D.
Chief Magistrate Judge Kelly's Report and Recommendation (the "Report"), ECF No. 5,
filed on April 25, 2018, recommended that the Petition be transferred to the United States District
Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Petitioner was informed that he could file

Fwd: Jonathan Prather v. Gilmore, No. 18-498
Nicole Moschetta

to: Linda Krings, Judge Arthur J. Schwab

From:

Nicole Moschetta/PAWD/03/USCOURTS

To:

05/03/2018 11 :20 AM

Linda Krings/PAWD/03/USCOURTS@uscourts , Judge Arthur J.
Schwab/PAWD/03/USCOU RTS@uscou rts

1 attachment

Prather, Jonathan v. Gilmore, No . 18-498 MOAR .docx

This looks good to me, can u please file Linda, if Judge is okay with it too? Thanks
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Michael Rizza" <Michael [e-mail]>
Date: May 3, 2018 at 11:18:17 AM EDT
To: "Nicole Moschetta" <nicole [e-mail]>
Subject: Jonothan Prather v. Gilmore, No. 18-498
Good Morning Nicole,
Attached hereto, please find a draft Order for Judge Schwab's consideration in overruling the
Objections and adopting the Report.
Sincerely,
Michael

(See attached.file: Prather, Jonathan v. Gilmore, No. 18-498 MOAR.docx)

Objections to the Report by May 14, 2018 . Petitioner filed Objections on May 1, 2018 . ECF No.
6. Nothing in those Objections merits rejection of the Report and Recommendation.
Petitioner does not deny that his conviction was obtained in a county located within the
Middle District of Pennsylvania. Rather, he only argues that, if a hearing were to be required in
the Middle District of Pennsylvania, it might interfere with his ongoing medical treatment for
Multiple Sclerosis occurring here in the Western District of Pennsylvania. However, we find that
evidentiary hearings are rarely conducted in habeas proceedings under Section 2254, especially,
under the AEDPA, and a review of the issues raised by Petitioner, dependent, as they are, upon
Miller v. Alabama, 132 S.Ct. 2455 (2012), does not seem to require a hearing, especially since,
Petitioner was concededly 19 years old at the time of the offense. ECF No. 3 at 10. Given the
speculative nature of the possibility of a hearing, we do not find that the Objections provide a
persuasive reason for not transferring thi~c:sr/o the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
AND NOW, this :J...::'-7fay of May 2018;
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, upon de novo review of the Report and the
Objections thereto, that the Clerk's Office is to transfer this Petition forthwith to the United States
District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The Report is adopted as the opinion of
the court.
BY THE COURT:

/s/

~~

ARTHURJ.SCHWAB
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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cc:

The Honorable Maureen P. Kelly
Chief United States Magistrate Judge
JONOTHAN E. PRATHER
KL-8100
SCI Greene
175 Progress Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370

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