Herbert Johnson v. Long Beach Court
- Jacquelyn Corley
- 3:25-cv-07736
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Herbert Johnson v. Long Beach Court, Judge Corley transferred Johnson’s state-conviction petition to the Central District of California.
Herbert Johnson’s federal petition challenging his state-court conviction was transferred from the Northern District of California to the Central District of California.
What happened
Herbert Johnson v. Long Beach Court concerns Johnson’s petition challenging the validity of his state-court conviction. He filed the petition under a federal law allowing state prisoners to seek review of their convictions, and he was proceeding without a lawyer.
The court explained that petitions challenging a conviction are generally heard in the federal district where the conviction occurred. Because the conviction was in Long Beach, in Los Angeles County, the court determined that the Central District of California was the proper venue.
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ordered the case transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and directed the clerk to transfer it immediately. The order did not decide the validity of Johnson’s conviction or the merits of his petition.
The detailed version
- Herbert Johnson v. Long Beach Court · No. 3:25-cv-07736
- Jacquelyn Corley
- Oct. 28, 2025
Background
Herbert Johnson, a California prisoner proceeding without an attorney, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging the validity of his state-court conviction in Long Beach, California.
Venue and Transfer
The court explained that federal law permits a state-prisoner conviction petition to be filed in either the federal district where the prisoner is confined or the federal district where the conviction occurred. Those districts have concurrent jurisdiction, meaning both may have authority to hear the petition, but the filing court may transfer the case when doing so serves the interests of justice.
The court stated that federal courts in California traditionally hear petitions challenging a conviction or sentence in the district where the conviction occurred. Long Beach is in Los Angeles County, which lies within the Central District of California. The court therefore determined that the Central District of California was the proper venue.
Disposition
The court transferred the case to the United States District Court for the Central District of California in the interest of justice and directed the clerk to transfer the matter immediately. The order addressed venue only; it did not decide the merits of Johnson’s challenge to his conviction.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.