Owens v. Steward

Filing 5

ORDER: The Clerk will TRANSFER this action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Winchester Division, at Winchester, Tennessee. Because transfer is appropriate, this Court declines to conduct the initial review of the habeas petition, required by Rule 4 of the Rules Governing § 2254 cases. Signed by District Judge Kevin H. Sharp on 3/17/14. (xc:Pro se party by regular and certified mail.)(DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(dt) [Transferred from Tennessee Middle on 3/18/2014.]

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
LONNIE LEE OWENS,
Petitioner,
v.
HENRY STEWARD, Warden,
Respondent.

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Case No. 3:14-cv-00689
Judge Sharp

ORDER
Before the Court is petitioner Lonnie Lee Owens’ pro se petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for the writ
of habeas corpus (ECF No. 1). The petitioner is an inmate at the Northwest Correctional Complex (“NWCX”)
in Tiptonville, Lake County, Tennessee. Lake County lies within the Western District of Tennessee. 28
U.S.C. § 123(c)(1). The petitioner challenges the legality of convictions entered against him by the Franklin
County Circuit Court in Winchester, Tennessee. Franklin County lies within the Winchester Division of the
Eastern District of Tennessee. 28 U.S.C. § 123(a)(4).
Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d), a habeas petitioner may file his habeas petition in either the judicial
district where the petitioner was convicted or the judicial district where he is currently incarcerated.
Therefore, venue for this action is proper in both the Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee, but not in
the Middle District of Tennessee. In the interest of justice, 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), this Court will transfer this
action to the appropriate venue.
Because a petitioner’s place of confinement may change from time to time while the district of his
convictions remains constant, it has been the consistent practice in the federal courts of Tennessee to
transfer habeas petitions to the judicial district in which the convicting court is located. In this case, the
Eastern District is the situs of the petitioner’s convictions. Accordingly, the Clerk will TRANSFER this action
to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Winchester Division, at Winchester,
Tennessee. Because transfer is appropriate, this Court declines to conduct the initial review of the habeas
petition, required by Rule 4 of the Rules Governing § 2254 cases.
It is so ORDERED.

Kevin H. Sharp
United States District Judge