Ruiz
- Edward Davila
- 5:20-cv-08594
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Joey R. Ruiz v. Warden, Judge Davila transferred Ruiz’s state-prisoner habeas petition to the Eastern District of California.
Joey R. Ruiz’s federal petition was transferred from the Northern District of California to the Eastern District of California; the order did not resolve his habeas claims.
What happened
Joey R. Ruiz v. Warden concerns a petition by Ruiz, a state prisoner representing himself, challenging his conviction or sentence under a federal law for state prisoners.
The court found that Kings County, where Ruiz was convicted, and San Joaquin County, where he was confined, are both in the Eastern District of California. It therefore transferred the case there and directed the clerk to terminate all pending motions.
Judge Edward J. Davila issued the transfer order.
The detailed version
- Ruiz · No. 5:20-cv-08594
- Edward Davila
- Apr. 6, 2021
Background
Joey R. Ruiz, a state prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. That law allows a state prisoner to ask a federal court to review a state-court conviction or sentence. The petition stated that Ruiz was convicted in Kings County and was confined at Deuel Vocational Institution in San Joaquin County.
Venue
The court explained that a state-prisoner habeas case may be heard in either the federal district where the prisoner is confined or the district where the conviction occurred. It also noted that California federal courts traditionally hear challenges to a conviction or sentence in the district where the conviction or sentencing took place. Kings County and San Joaquin County are both within the Eastern District of California.
Disposition
The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) and the local habeas rules. It directed the clerk to terminate all pending motions and transfer the entire file. The order did not decide the substance of Ruiz’s habeas claims. Judge Edward J. Davila signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.