Mayo v. Montagari
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-08747
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Mayo v. Montagari, Chief Judge Swain transferred Mayo’s challenge to his conviction to the Eastern District of New York.
Maurice Mayo’s federal challenge to his 2022 Richmond County conviction was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York. The receiving court will decide whether he may continue without paying fees.
What happened
Mayo v. Montagari concerns Maurice Mayo’s petition asking a federal court to review the constitutionality of his 2022 conviction in Richmond County, New York. Mayo filed the petition without a lawyer while incarcerated at Mohawk Correctional Facility.
Because Richmond County is located in the Eastern District of New York, the Southern District of New York transferred the case there under its local rule. The opinion did not decide whether Mayo’s conviction was constitutional.
Chief Judge Swain directed the Clerk to transfer the case and closed the Southern District case. The Eastern District will decide whether Mayo may continue without paying filing fees; the court also denied fee-free status for any appeal and said no certificate allowing an appeal would issue.
The detailed version
- Mayo v. Montagari · No. 1:22-cv-08747
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 18, 2022
Background
Maurice Mayo filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, a procedure that allows a person held under a state-court conviction to seek federal review of the conviction’s constitutionality. Mayo filed without a lawyer and was incarcerated at Mohawk Correctional Facility. He challenged his 2022 conviction in the New York Supreme Court for Richmond County.
Transfer
The Southern District of New York transferred the action under Local Rule 83.3 because Richmond County is located in the Eastern District of New York. The opinion did not address the substance of Mayo’s constitutional challenge or decide whether his conviction should be overturned.
Disposition
The court directed the Clerk to transfer the action to the Eastern District of New York and closed the Southern District case. It left to the receiving court the question whether Mayo could proceed without paying fees. The court also ruled that a certificate of appealability—a document required for an appeal in this type of case—would not issue because Mayo had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied. It further denied permission to appeal without paying fees, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.