Moolenaar v. Ann Marie T. Sullivan

Background

On August 19, 2025, Brian Keith Moolenaar filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his involuntary commitment. A petition under that statute is a request for federal review of custody that allegedly violates the Constitution or federal law. Moolenaar was proceeding without a lawyer and paid the filing fee.

Moolenaar stated that he had been committed to Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center under a January 22, 2025 court order finding him unfit to proceed under two Queens County indictments. He had also previously challenged his commitment in a New York Supreme Court proceeding in Bronx County.

Transfer ruling

The Eastern District of New York explained that a custody challenge under either 28 U.S.C. § 2254 or § 2241 generally should be filed in the district where the petitioner is confined. The court stated that the court issuing the writ must have jurisdiction over the person responsible for the custody.

Because Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center is on Wards Island in New York County, the court determined that the petition belonged in the Southern District of New York. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), a court may transfer a case filed in the wrong district to a district where it could have been brought.

Disposition

The court transferred the petition to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. It waived the usual seven-day waiting period for the clerk’s transfer, directed the clerk to close the case in the Eastern District of New York after the transfer, and directed that a copy of the order be mailed to Moolenaar. The order did not decide the merits of his challenge to the commitment.