Griffin v. Price
- Edward Davila
- 5:21-cv-07646
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Griffin v. Price, Judge Davila transferred Griffin’s habeas petition to the Eastern District of California because venue was there.
Dexter Lawrence Griffin’s petition will be handled by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California rather than the Northern District of California; the opinion also directs the Clerk to terminate pending motions and transfer the case file.
What happened
Dexter Lawrence Griffin filed a petition challenging the retroactive application of California’s Sexually Violent Predator Act while confined at Coalinga State Hospital.
The court found that both Griffin’s conviction and confinement were in the Eastern District of California, making that district the proper venue for the case.
Judge Edward J. Davila transferred the case and directed the Clerk to terminate pending motions and send the entire file to that district; the court did not decide the petition’s underlying challenge.
The detailed version
- Griffin v. Price · No. 5:21-cv-07646
- Edward Davila
- Oct. 8, 2021
Background
Dexter Lawrence Griffin, a state patient at Coalinga State Hospital, filed a petition without a lawyer under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. He challenged the retroactive application of the Sexually Violent Predator Act. Brandon Price was named as the respondent.
Venue analysis
Federal law allows a state habeas petition to be heard in either the district where the petitioner is confined or the district where the conviction occurred. Griffin was convicted in Sacramento County, and he was confined at Coalinga State Hospital in Fresno County. The court stated that both counties are in the Eastern District of California. It therefore determined that venue was in that district rather than the Northern District of California.
Ruling
Judge Edward J. Davila ordered that the case be transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). The Clerk was directed to terminate all pending motions and transfer the entire file. The order addressed venue and did not decide whether Griffin’s challenge to the Act had merit.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.