DeWitt v. Warden, USP Beaumont

Filing 2

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING TRANSFER. Signed by Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn on 1/10/22. (ljw, )

Case 9:21-cv-00307-RC-ZJH Document 2 Filed 01/10/22 Page 1 of 2 PageID #: 35

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
LUFKIN DIVISION
KEITH W. DEWITT, SR.

§

VS.

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WARDEN, USP BEAUMONT

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CIVIL ACTION NO. 9:21cv307

MEMORANDUM OPINION REGARDING TRANSFER
Petitioner Keith W. DeWitt, Sr., an inmate confined at the Federal Correctional Complex in
Beaumont, Texas, proceeding pro se, brings this petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 2241.
The above-styled action was referred to the undersigned magistrate judge pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 636 and the Local Rules for the Assignment of Duties to the United States Magistrate Judge
for findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations for the disposition of the case.
Discussion
Petitioner complains he was denied due process during a prison disciplinary proceeding on
January 22, 2021 at the Federal Correctional Complex in Beaumont, Texas.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d), a petitioner may bring his petition for writ of habeas corpus
in the district court for the district wherein such person is in custody or in the district court for the
district within which he was convicted. Section 2241(d) further provides that the district court in
the exercise of its discretion may transfer the action to the other district in the furtherance of justice.
Petitioner is confined at the Federal Correctional Complex in Beaumont, Texas which is
located in the Beaumont Division of the Eastern District of Texas. Thus, jurisdiction is proper in

Case 9:21-cv-00307-RC-ZJH Document 2 Filed 01/10/22 Page 2 of 2 PageID #: 36

the Eastern District of Texas. However, the petition has been inadvertently filed in the Lufkin
Division instead of the Beaumont Division.
While jurisdiction is proper in the Eastern District of Texas, the court has considered the
circumstances and has determined that the interest of justice would best be served if this petition
were transferred to the division in which the petitioner is confined and the disciplinary proceeding
occurred.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), for the convenience of parties and witnesses and in the interest
of justice, a district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where it could
have been brought. Such a transfer may be done sua sponte and is reviewable only for an abuse of
discretion. Mills v. Beech Aircraft Corp., 886 F.2d 758, 761 (5th Cir. 1989).
Since petitioner is confined in the Beaumont Division and complains of a disciplinary
conviction which occurred in the Beaumont Division, all records and witnesses involving this action
most likely will be located in the Beaumont Division. Thus, the transfer of this action to such
division would further justice. Therefore, it is the opinion of the undersigned that this petition
should be transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont
Division. An Order of Transfer so providing shall be entered in accordance with this Memorandum
Opinion.
SIGNED this 10th day of January, 2022.

_________________________
Zack Hawthorn
United States Magistrate Judge

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