Lawrence v. DA District Attorney Eric Gonzalez

Background

MyHope Lawrence brought this action without a lawyer and asserted federal constitutional claims against Kings County District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, Acting Justice Elizabeth N. Warin of the New York Supreme Court, Kings County, and attorney Craig Newman. Lawrence is currently held in the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island. The opinion states that the claims seem principally to arise from events in the New York Supreme Court, Kings County, and that Lawrence appears to seek injunctive relief and perhaps damages.

Venue Analysis

Venue means the federal district where a case may properly be litigated. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), venue may be proper where a defendant resides, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, in limited circumstances, where a defendant is subject to the court’s personal jurisdiction. Lawrence did not state where the defendants reside, so the court could not determine whether venue was proper in the Southern District of New York on that basis.

The court noted, however, that Lawrence appeared to allege that a substantial part, if not all, of the relevant events occurred in Brooklyn, Kings County. Brooklyn is within the Eastern District of New York. Lawrence did not appear to allege that a substantial part of the events occurred in the Southern District. The court therefore concluded that the Eastern District was a proper venue based on where the events occurred.

Transfer Decision

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), a federal court may transfer a civil action to another federal district where it could have been brought when the transfer would serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and the interests of justice. The court considered the apparent location of the events and reasoned that relevant documents and witnesses would likely also be located in the Eastern District. It determined that the Eastern District appeared to be the more convenient forum.

Disposition

The court directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. It stated that the case was closed in the Southern District of New York, that summonses would not issue from that court, and that the transferee court would decide whether Lawrence could proceed without prepaying fees. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The court did not decide the merits of Lawrence’s constitutional claims.