Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_19-cv-04106/USCOURTS-cand-4_19-cv-04106-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
D. Avila
Respondent
Bobby Graham
Petitioner
Devonta B. Graham
Petitioner

Document Text:

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United States District Court 

Northern District of Californi

a

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

DEVONTA B. GRAHAM, 

AKA BOBBY GRAHAM, 

Petitioner, 

v. 

TAMMY FOSS, Acting Warden,1

Respondent. 

Case No. 19-cv-04106-DMR (PR) 

ORDER OF TRANSFER 

Petitioner, a state prisoner currently incarcerated at Salinas Valley State Prison, has filed 

this pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging the 

validity of his conviction obtained in the Sacramento County Superior Court. Dkt. 1. He has 

neither paid the filing fee nor filed an in forma pauperis (“IFP”) application. 

 On July 16, 2019, the Clerk of the Court informed Petitioner that this action has been 

assigned to the undersigned Magistrate Judge.2 Dkt. 3. 

 A petition for a writ of habeas corpus 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 may be 

filed in either the district of confinement or the district of conviction. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d). 

The district court where the petition is filed, however, may transfer the petition to the other district 

in the furtherance of justice. See id. Federal courts in California traditionally have chosen to hear 

petitions challenging a conviction or sentence in the district of conviction. See Dannenberg v. 

Ingle, 831 F. Supp. 767, 767 (N.D. Cal. 1993); Laue v. Nelson, 279 F. Supp. 265, 266 (N.D. Cal. 

 1

 Tammy Foss, the current acting warden of the prison where Petitioner is incarcerated, has 

been substituted as Respondent pursuant to Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 

2

 To date, Petitioner has not yet returned the form indicating whether he consents to or 

declines magistrate judge jurisdiction in this action. 

Case 4:19-cv-04106-DMR Document 4 Filed 07/23/19 Page 1 of 3
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United States District Court 

Northern District of Californi

a

1968). If the petition is directed to the manner in which a sentence is being executed, e.g., if it 

involves parole or time credits claims, the district of confinement is the preferable forum. See

Habeas L.R. 2254-3(a); Dunne v. Henman, 875 F.2d 244, 249 (9th Cir. 1989). 

 Here, Petitioner challenges a conviction and sentence incurred in the Sacramento County 

Superior Court, which is within the venue of the Eastern District of California. Therefore, the 

United States District Court for the Eastern District of California has jurisdiction over this matter. 

 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) and Habeas L.R. 2254-3(b), and in the interest of justice, 

this action is TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of 

California.3 Therefore, the Clerk shall transfer the case forthwith. 

If Petitioner wishes to further pursue this action, he must either pay the $ 5.00 filing fee or 

complete the IFP application required by the United States District Court for the Eastern District 

of California and mail it to that district. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: July 23, 2019 

 

 

DONNA M. RYU 

United States Magistrate Judge 

 3

 Venue transfer is a non-dispositive matter and, thus, it falls within the scope of the 

jurisdiction of the undersigned Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A). 

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United States District Court 

Northern District of Californi

a

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

DEVONTA B. GRAHAM, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

D. AVILA, 

Defendant. 

Case No. 4:19-cv-04106-DMR 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S. 

District Court, Northern District of California. 

That on July 23, 2019, I SERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by placing 

said copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by 

depositing said envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office delivery 

receptacle located in the Clerk's office. 

Devonta B. Graham 

AK-4734 

Salinas Valley State Prison 

PO Box 1050 

Soledad, CA 93960 

Dated: July 23, 2019 

Susan Y. Soong 

Clerk, United States District Court 

 

By:________________________ 

Ivy Lerma Garcia, Deputy Clerk to the 

Honorable DONNA M. RYU 

Case 4:19-cv-04106-DMR Document 4 Filed 07/23/19 Page 3 of 3