Mohammad v. John/Jane Doe
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-06732
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Mohammad v. John/Jane Doe, Judge McMahon transferred Mohammad’s petition challenging his conviction to the Northern District of New York without deciding its merits.
Abdullah Abdul Hakeem Mohammad’s federal challenge to his state conviction was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Northern District of New York; John/Jane Doe was the named respondent.
What happened
Abdullah Abdul Hakeem Mohammad v. John/Jane Doe involved a petition challenging the constitutionality of Mohammad’s conviction. Mohammad was incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility and represented himself.
Because the conviction and sentence were imposed in Greene County, the court determined that the case belonged in the Northern District of New York. The opinion did not decide whether the conviction was constitutional.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the case transferred, directed the clerk to mail Mohammad the order, and closed the case. She left the question of whether Mohammad could proceed without paying fees to the receiving court, declined to issue a certificate allowing an appeal, and denied fee-free status for any appeal.
The detailed version
- Mohammad v. John/Jane Doe · No. 1:20-cv-06732
- Colleen McMahon
- Oct. 15, 2020
Background
Abdullah Abdul Hakeem Mohammad filed a self-represented petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. This is a request for federal review of whether a state conviction violates the Constitution. He challenged a conviction in the New York Supreme Court, Greene County. The opinion states that he was incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
The opinion does not provide the date of the Greene County conviction. In a footnote, it says Mohammad indicated that he was convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to 2½ to 5 years in prison. The same footnote says state records listed a conviction for attempted murder in the second degree and a 13-year sentence.
Transfer ruling
The court transferred the action under Local Rule 83.3 because Greene County is located in the Northern District of New York. The order directed the clerk to mail Mohammad a copy of the order, record service on the docket, and transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. The court did not decide the constitutional challenge to Mohammad’s conviction.
Other rulings
The court stated that the Northern District of New York would decide whether Mohammad could continue without paying fees. The court also stated that a certificate of appealability would not issue because Mohammad had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied. It certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order closed the case in the Southern District of New York.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.