George v. Allen

Background

Keenan George, a state prisoner confined at Salinas Valley State Prison, filed a self-represented document titled “Petitioner request to have collateral relief to re-open case from a wrongful conviction.” The Clerk construed the filing as an attempt to submit a petition challenging George’s state conviction from Los Angeles County. The Clerk sent George a notice instructing him to use the proper petition form and submit an application to proceed without paying the filing fee.

Venue and Transfer

Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d), a state prisoner may file a petition challenging a state-court judgment in either the federal district where the prisoner is confined or the federal district where the conviction occurred, when the state has multiple federal districts. George was confined in Monterey County, which is in the Northern District of California. His district of conviction was the Western Division of the Central District of California, which includes Los Angeles County.

The court exercised its discretion to transfer the case to the district of conviction, citing furtherance of justice, 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), and Habeas Local Rule 2254-3(b)(1). The opinion also referred to the traditional practice of federal courts in California, although the provided text does not include the complete sentence describing that practice.

Disposition

The court ordered the case transferred to the United States District Court for the Western Division of the Central District of California. The Clerk was ordered to terminate all pending motions and transfer the entire file. The order did not rule on the merits of George’s challenge to his conviction.