Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_10-cv-01634/USCOURTS-casd-3_10-cv-01634-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 28:2254 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (State)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

ANTHONY SPILLERS, Civil No. 10-1634 JAH (BGS)

Petitioner,

ORDER TRANSFERRING ACTION

TO UNITED STATES DISTRICT

COURT FOR THE CENTRAL

DISTRICT, EASTERN DIVISION

vs.

SILVIA H. GARCIA, Warden

Respondent.

Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a habeas corpus action filed pursuant

to 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254. Petitioner has not paid the $5.00 filing fee and has not filed a motion to

proceed in forma pauperis. Upon reviewing the petition, the Court finds that this case should

be transferred in the interest of justice. Thus, this Court does not rule on Petitioner’s in forma

pauperis status.

A petition for writ of habeas corpus may be filed in the United States District Court of

either the judicial district in which the petitioner is presently confined or the judicial district in

which he was convicted and sentenced. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d); Braden v. 30th Judicial

Circuit Court, 410 U.S. 484, 497 (1973). Petitioner is presently confined at La Palma

Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona. (See Pet. at 1.) Petitioner’s state court conviction

occurred in Riverside County Superior Court, which is located within the jurisdictional

boundaries of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Eastern

Case 3:10-cv-01634-JAH-BGS Document 2 Filed 08/11/10 Page 1 of 3
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Division. See 28 U.S.C. § 84(c)(1). Thus, jurisdiction exists in the Central District, but not in

the Southern District.

Although this Court does not have jurisdiction over the action, “[u]nder a provision of the

Federal Courts Improvement Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1631, if a court finds that there is a want of

jurisdiction the court shall transfer the action to any other such court in which the action could

have been brought ‘if it is in the interest of justice.’” Miller v. Hambrick, 905 F.2d 259, 262 (9th

Cir. 1990) (citing In re McCauley, 814 F.2d 1350, 1351-52 (9th Cir. 1987)). The Ninth Circuit

has held that transferring a habeas corpus proceeding to a district with proper jurisdiction will

be in the interest of justice because normally dismissal of an action that could be brought

elsewhere is “time-consuming and justice-defeating.” Miller, 905 F.2d at 262 (quoting

Goldlawr, Inc. v. Heiman, 369 U.S. 463, 467 (1962). Therefore, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631,

this Court may transfer this proceeding to a district with proper jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.

§ 2241(d).

When a habeas petitioner is challenging a state court conviction, the district court of the

district in which the state court conviction took place is a more convenient forum because of the

accessibility of evidence, records and witnesses. Thus, it is generally the practice of the district

courts in California to transfer habeas actions questioning state court convictions to the district

in which the state court conviction took place. Any and all records, witnesses and evidence

necessary for the resolution of Petitioner’s contentions are more readily available in Riverside

County. See Braden, 410 U.S. at 497, 499 n.15 (stating that a court can, of course, transfer

habeas cases to the district of conviction which is ordinarily a more convenient forum).

Therefore, in the furtherance of justice,

IT IS ORDERED that the Clerk of this Court transfer this matter to the United States

District Court for the Central District of California, Eastern Division. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d).

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of this Court serve a copy of this Order

upon Petitioner and upon the California Attorney General.

DATED: August 10, 2010 _ ________________________________________

John A. Houston

United States District Judge

Case 3:10-cv-01634-JAH-BGS Document 2 Filed 08/11/10 Page 3 of 3