Singleton v. The P.T.S. Extradition Co. et al (TVV)

Filing 6

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER; Petitioner's application to proceed in forma pauperis is GRANTED. The Clerk is DIRECTED to file this action without prepayment of costs or other fees as of the date the petition was received. (Judgment Order to follow) Signed by District Judge Thomas A Varlan on 4/9/12. (c/m)(ADA)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
AT KNOXVILLE
MICHAEL A. SINGLETON,
Petitioner,
v.
THE P.T.S. EXTRADITION CO.,
THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
and JOHN DOE U.S. MARSHALS,
Respondents.

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No.:

3:12-cv-75
(VARLAN/SHIRLEY)

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Petitioner has filed a petition for the writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
2241 and a subsequent amended petition, as well as an application to proceed in forma
pauperis. Petitioner's application to proceed in forma pauperis is GRANTED. The Clerk
is DIRECTED to file this action without prepayment of costs or other fees as of the date the
petition was received. For the reasons stated below, the respondents shall not be required to
file an answer or other pleading to the petition and this petition is DISMISSED.
Petitioner is confined in the Evans Correctional Institution in Bennettsville, South
Carolina. His habeas corpus petition and amended petition are both rambling, disjointed, and
difficult to decipher. As best the Court can discern, however, petitioner claims he is actually
innocent of the charges to which he pleaded guilty in 2003 in Charleston, South Carolina.
He also claims his probation on those charges was improperly revoked, and that he was

illegally abducted by U.S. Marshals in New Jersey and transported across state lines to South
Carolina.
The allegations in the petition and amended petition state no nexus whatsoever to
either the State of Tennessee or to this Court. Accordingly, this Court lacks authority to
grant petitioner any relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d) (a petition for habeas corpus by a state
prisoner should be filed in the district court for the district in which the petitioner is
incarcerated or in the district court for the district in which the state sentence was imposed).1
Because it plainly appears from the face of the petition and the annexed exhibits that
petitioner is not entitled to any habeas corpus relief in this Court, the petition for the writ of
habeas corpus is DISMISSED. Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases In The
United States District Courts. The Clerk is DIRECTED to notify the petitioner of this Order
and to close this file. A certificate of appealability SHALL NOT ISSUE in this action. 28
U.S.C. § 2253(c).
In addition to the above, this Court has carefully reviewed this case pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1915(a) and hereby CERTIFIES that any appeal from this action would not be
taken in good faith and would be totally frivolous. Therefore, this Court hereby DENIES

1

The Court notes that petitioner did in fact file a habeas corpus petition in the U.S. District
Court for the District of South Carolina. See Michael A. Singleton v. Warden, Evans Correctional
Institution, Civil Action No. 2:11-cv-1034 (D.S.C. Aug. 25, 2011) (Order dismissing petition with
prejudice).
2

the petitioner leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal. See Rule 24 of the Federal Rules
of Appellate Procedure.

ENTER:

s/ Thomas A. Varlan
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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