Abraham v. Cates
- Pitts
- 5:23-cv-03587
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 1
In Abraham v. Cates, Judge Pitts transferred Abraham’s state-prison petition to the Central District of California because it challenges an Orange County conviction.
Alec Scott Abraham’s federal challenge to his Orange County conviction was transferred from the Northern District of California to the Central District of California. The order also terminated all pending motions and transferred the case file.
What happened
Alec Scott Abraham filed a petition challenging his conviction from the Orange County Superior Court. He filed it under the federal law that allows state prisoners to challenge convictions in federal court.
The Northern District of California explained that such a petition may be heard where the prisoner is confined or where the conviction occurred. Because Abraham’s conviction came from Orange County, the court transferred the case to the Central District of California, the district that includes Orange County.
Judge P. Casey Pitts ordered the transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). The clerk was directed to terminate all pending motions and send the entire case file to the Central District of California.
The detailed version
- Abraham v. Cates · No. 5:23-cv-03587
- Pitts
- Mar. 1, 2024
Background
Alec Scott Abraham, identified as a state prisoner at California Correctional Institution, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The petition challenges a conviction from the Orange County Superior Court.
Venue
The court stated that venue for a state-prison habeas petition is proper either in the district where the prisoner is confined or in the district where the prisoner was convicted. It also stated that petitions challenging a conviction or sentence are preferably heard in the district of conviction. Because the challenged conviction was from Orange County, the Central District of California is the district of conviction.
Ruling
The court transferred the case to the United States District Court for the Central District of California under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). The clerk was ordered to terminate all pending motions and transfer the entire file. The order did not decide the merits of Abraham’s challenge to his conviction.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.