Summa v. Richmond County District Attorney's Office

Background

Robert John Summa, proceeding without a lawyer, brought a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office; Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon; Assistant District Attorney Jackie Bruno; and Records Access Officer Jennifer Mazella violated his rights by denying him access to discovery materials for use in his Richmond County criminal proceedings. The opinion states that Summa was incarcerated at Woodbourne Correctional Facility when the action was brought. It also discusses his allegations that he had been detained at Rikers Island, Woodbourne Correctional Facility, and Attica Correctional Facility when he submitted requests to the District Attorney’s Office.

Venue and Transfer

The court discussed the federal venue statute, which generally identifies districts where defendants reside, where a substantial part of the relevant events occurred, or, in some circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court’s authority. Summa did not plead where the defendants resided. The opinion states that the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office is located in Richmond County and that the individual defendants work there. Richmond County is in the Eastern District of New York.

The court also applied 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), which permits transfer to another federal district for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. It concluded that transfer was appropriate because the claims concerned Richmond County criminal proceedings, all defendants were located or employed in Richmond County, and relevant documents and witnesses could reasonably be expected to be there. The court determined that the Eastern District of New York appeared to be the more convenient forum.

Disposition

The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The Clerk was directed to make the transfer, the Southern District of New York order closed the case, and a summons was not to issue from that court. The court left the question whether Summa could proceed without prepaying fees to the transferee court. It certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The opinion did not decide whether Summa’s underlying civil-rights allegations were valid.