Crampton v. Lilley
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-01274
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Crampton v. Lilley, Judge Swain transferred Crampton’s challenge to his 2017 conviction to the Northern District of New York.
Adam C. Crampton’s federal challenge to his 2017 Broome County conviction was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Northern District of New York; the order did not decide the challenge’s merits.
What happened
In Crampton v. Lilley, Adam C. Crampton, who is incarcerated at Eastern Correctional Facility, filed a petition without a lawyer challenging the constitutionality of his 2017 conviction in Broome County Court.
The Southern District of New York explained that Broome County is in the Northern District of New York, so it directed that the case be transferred there under the court’s local rule. The court did not decide whether Crampton’s conviction was constitutional.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the case and closed it in the Southern District of New York. She also declined to issue a certificate allowing an appeal and denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Crampton v. Lilley · No. 1:23-cv-01274
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 15, 2023
Background
Adam C. Crampton, the petitioner, is incarcerated at Eastern Correctional Facility in Naponach, New York. Proceeding without a lawyer, he filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, a federal procedure for challenging a state-court conviction, arguing that his 2017 conviction in Broome County Court was unconstitutional. The respondent is Superintendent Lilley.
Reason for Transfer
The court noted that Crampton was convicted and sentenced in Broome County, which is located in the Northern District of New York. Applying Local Rule 83.3, the court determined that the action should be transferred to that district. The order did not address the merits of Crampton’s constitutional challenge.
Ruling
The court directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York and stated that the case was closed in the Southern District of New York. It left the question of whether Crampton could continue without paying filing fees to the transferee court. Because Crampton had not then made a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied, the court said that a certificate of appealability would not issue. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
Effect
The transfer order moved the case to the Northern District of New York; it did not resolve whether Crampton’s conviction was constitutional.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.