Cardello-Smith v. Combs

Background

Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith filed a self-represented petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, a federal procedure for challenging a state-court conviction and seeking release. The opinion states that he was incarcerated at Ionia Correctional Facility in Michigan and that he paid the $5 filing fee for a habeas petition.

Cardello-Smith challenged a conviction and sentence from Wayne County, Michigan. The court noted that Wayne County is located in the Eastern District of Michigan. The opinion also noted that the petition named several individuals who are not proper respondents in a § 2254 case, while also naming Warden Dale Bonn, whom the opinion identifies as Cardello-Smith's custodian.

Ruling

The court ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan because the petition challenged a Wayne County conviction. The order closed the case in the Southern District of New York; it did not decide the petition's underlying challenge to the conviction.

The court stated that Cardello-Smith had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied, so it would not issue a certificate of appealability, which is a document required for an appeal in many federal habeas cases. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fee.