Valine v. President Donald J. Trump

Background

Jacob Valine, who resides in Colorado, brought a self-represented action challenging the deployment of the National Guard. He named President Donald J. Trump, the United States Department of Defense, and the Attorney General of the United States as defendants. Valine alleged that President Trump publicly threatened to defy federal court rulings on National Guard deployments, that the Department of Defense could carry out unlawful deployments under the President’s command, and that the Attorney General had not intervened to support judicial enforcement. Valine stated that the events occurred nationwide, with constitutional effects centered in Washington, D.C., and New York.

Venue Analysis

Because the defendants are federal defendants, the court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1391(e), which identifies where a case against federal defendants may be filed. The court concluded that venue was not proper in the Southern District of New York for any of the relevant reasons. The defendants did not reside in a county within that district. Valine alleged that New York could be affected by the defendants’ conduct but did not allege facts showing that the challenged conduct occurred there. The case did not involve real property, and Valine resides in Colorado rather than New York.

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), when a case is filed in the wrong venue, the court may dismiss it or transfer it in the interest of justice to a district where it could have been brought. The court found that the case could have been filed in the District of Columbia because the challenged federal actions arose there, and it could also have been filed in the District of Colorado because Valine resides there. The court chose transfer to the District of Columbia because the events giving rise to the claims arose in Washington, D.C., where President Trump and the Attorney General are located.

Ruling and Effect

Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). The order did not decide the underlying challenge to the National Guard deployment. It left the transferee court to decide whether Valine could proceed without prepaying filing fees and to address Valine’s motions filed at ECF 6–12; the New York court directed the Clerk to terminate those motions. No summons was to issue from the New York court, and the order closed the action there. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.