Milonovich v. Goodwin
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-04593
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Milonovich v. Goodwin, Judge Swain transferred the petition to the Eastern District of New York without deciding its merits.
Valeriy Milonovich's petition was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York; the receiving court will decide whether he may proceed without paying fees.
What happened
In Milonovich v. Goodwin, Valeriy Milonovich, who is incarcerated at Greene Correctional Facility and is representing himself, challenged his December 12, 2018 conviction in Kings County, New York.
Because the conviction occurred in Kings County, the court transferred the case to the federal court for the Eastern District of New York. The court did not decide whether the conviction was constitutional, and it closed the case in the Southern District of New York.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also said that the receiving court would decide whether Milonovich could continue without paying fees. She declined to issue a certificate allowing an appeal and denied fee-free status for any appeal.
The detailed version
- Milonovich v. Goodwin · No. 1:24-cv-04593
- Laura Swain
- June 17, 2024
Background
Valeriy Milonovich, who is incarcerated at Greene Correctional Facility and is proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging the constitutionality of his December 12, 2018 conviction in the New York Supreme Court, Kings County.
Transfer
The court explained that Kings County is located in the Eastern District of New York. Under Local Rule 83.3, it directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The order states that the receiving court will decide whether Milonovich may proceed without paying fees. The Southern District of New York closed the case in that court; the order did not decide the merits of the challenge to the conviction.
Appeal-related rulings
The court determined that Milonovich had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied, so it ruled that a certificate of appealability would not issue. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
Disposition
The action was transferred to the Eastern District of New York, and the case was closed in the Southern District of New York. Judge Laura Taylor Swain did not rule on whether Milonovich's conviction was constitutional.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.