Tolliver v. Capra
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-11133
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Tolliver v. Capra, Judge McMahon transferred Eric Tolliver’s conviction challenge to the Northern District of New York without deciding its merits.
Eric Tolliver’s federal challenge to his 1996 conviction was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Northern District of New York. The transferee court would decide whether he could proceed without paying fees.
What happened
In Tolliver v. Capra, Eric Tolliver, who is incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, challenged the constitutionality of his 1996 conviction in Onondaga County, New York. He filed the case without a lawyer.
Because the conviction and sentence occurred in Onondaga County, which is in the Northern District of New York, the Southern District of New York transferred the case there. The court did not decide whether Tolliver’s constitutional challenge was valid.
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the transfer and closed the Southern District case. She also declined to issue a certificate allowing an appeal and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees; the Northern District court would decide whether Tolliver could continue without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Tolliver v. Capra · No. 1:20-cv-11133
- Colleen McMahon
- Jan. 11, 2021
Background
Eric Tolliver, who was incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, a procedure for challenging a state-court conviction in federal court. The opinion states that he proceeded without a lawyer and challenged the constitutionality of his 1996 conviction in the New York Supreme Court for Onondaga County.
Transfer ruling
The court transferred the action under Local Rule 83.3 to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York because Onondaga County, where Tolliver was convicted and sentenced, is located in that district. The order directed the Clerk of Court to mail Tolliver a copy, record service on the docket, and transfer the action. It also stated that the receiving court would decide whether Tolliver could proceed without paying fees. The Southern District case was closed.
Appeal-related rulings
The court determined that Tolliver had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied, so it would not issue a certificate of appealability under 28 U.S.C. § 2253. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
Effect of the order
The order addressed where the case should proceed and related filing-fee and appeal matters. It did not reach the merits of Tolliver’s challenge to his conviction.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.