Andrews v. Warden
- Jon Tigar
- 4:23-cv-01445
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Andrews v. Warden, Judge Barch-Kuchta transferred the habeas case to the Northern District of California because the challenged conviction was entered there.
The transfer affects Richard John Adams Andrews’s federal petition challenging his state conviction and sentence; the case will proceed in the Northern District of California’s San Jose Division.
What happened
In Andrews v. Warden, Richard John Adams Andrews, representing himself, challenged his state conviction and sentence from Santa Clara County in a petition seeking federal review.
The court explained that the case could be heard where Andrews was convicted or imprisoned, but federal courts in California generally handle these petitions in the district where the conviction occurred.
Judge Helena M. Barch-Kuchta ordered the Clerk to transfer the case to the Northern District of California’s San Jose Division and directed future filings to use the new case number and filing address.
The detailed version
- Andrews v. Warden · No. 4:23-cv-01445
- Jon Tigar
- Mar. 24, 2023
Background
Richard John Adams Andrews, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for federal review of his state conviction and sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. He identified the challenged proceedings as Santa Clara County Superior Court criminal docket numbers C1228874 and/or C1224366.
Transfer decision
The court stated that, under 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d), a federal court may have jurisdiction in the district where the petitioner was convicted or where the petitioner is imprisoned. It also explained that 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) allows a court to transfer a civil action to another district where it could have been filed when doing so serves the convenience of the parties and witnesses and the interests of justice.
Because Santa Clara County is within the Northern District of California, and because federal courts in California generally hear these petitions in the district of conviction, the court found that the petition should be transferred to that district.
Order
Judge Helena M. Barch-Kuchta ordered the Clerk to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. The court also ordered that future filings reference the new case number and be filed with that court.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.