Williams v. Director, TDCJ-CID

Filing 7

ORDER TO TRANSFER CASE to Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division (Signed by Judge George C Hanks, Jr) Parties notified.(dperez, 3) [Transferred from Texas Southern on 4/13/2018.]

United States District Court
Southern District of Texas

ENTERED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
GALVESTON DIVISION
ALFREY JAMES WILLIAMS,
TDCJ # 02035526,
Petitioner,
VS.
LORIE DAVIS,
Respondent.

April 12, 2018
David J. Bradley, Clerk

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§ CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:18-CV-35
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ORDER TO TRANSFER
Petitioner Alfrey James Williams, an inmate in the custody of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice–Correctional Institutions Division (“TDCJ”), has filed a
petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The petition challenges a
state court drug conviction in Jefferson County, Cause Number 14-20689-A. Williams is
proceeding pro se and has paid the $5 filing fee. After reviewing the pleadings, the Court
concludes that this action must be transferred for reasons set forth briefly below.
Because the petitioner is in custody pursuant to a judgment and sentence by a state
court in Texas, which has more than one federal district, jurisdiction over the petition is
determined by the place of conviction or the place of confinement, as follows:
Where an application for a writ of habeas corpus is made by a person in
custody under the judgment and sentence of a State court of a State which
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.

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28 U.S.C. § 2241(d). The Fifth Circuit has emphasized that, under § 2241(d), a petitioner
may seek a federal writ of habeas corpus in one of only two places: (1) the district in
which the state court conviction was entered, or (2) the district within which the
petitioner is incarcerated. See Wadsworth v. Johnson, 235 F.3d 959, 962 (5th Cir. 2000).
Jefferson County, where the challenged state court conviction was entered, is
located in the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division. See 28 U.S.C. § 124(c)(2).
The Ramsey Unit, where the petitioner is presently incarcerated, is located in Brazoria
County, which is in the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division. See 28 U.S.C.
§ 124(b)(1).

Although the petition was properly filed here for purposes of Section

2441(d), the challenged conviction that has no ties to this district. Under these
circumstances, a transfer is appropriate. See Mitchell v. Henderson, 432 F.2d 435, 436
(5th Cir. 1970) (concluding that the division of conviction, where witnesses were located,
was a more appropriate venue than the division of confinement in challenge to
conviction).
In the exercise of its discretion and in furtherance of justice, this Court will
transfer the petition pursuant to Section 2241(d) and Southern District policy.
See General Order of May 30, 1985 (dictating that challenges to the conviction go to the
division within the district where the conviction was entered).

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Accordingly, the Clerk of Court is ORDERED to TRANSFER this habeas action
to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division,
and to provide a copy of this order to the parties.
SIGNED at Galveston, Texas, this 12th day of April, 2018.
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George C. Hanks Jr.
United States District Judge

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