Mars v. Cort

Background

Patrick Mars, who appeared without a lawyer, filed a petition asking a federal court to review his arrest and later detention. The petition was captioned for the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Queens County. Mars alleged that on November 16, 2022, an officer stopped him because of tinted windows, broke his glove compartment, and searched his vehicle without probable cause or a warrant. He asserted that his constitutional rights were violated and requested a “full investigation.”

The opinion states that New York court records showed one criminal case pending in Queens County based on the November 16, 2022 arrest and another criminal case pending in Nassau County based on an October 8, 2020 arrest. The opinion also states that Department of Correction records showed Mars in custody, although a footnote said he had recently been released to another jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction and Transfer

The court explained that a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 is available to a person whose custody results from a state-court judgment. Because Mars was not currently subject to a state-court judgment, the court said § 2254 was unavailable and construed the filing as a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 instead.

The court further explained that a § 2241 petition challenging physical confinement generally belongs in the federal district where the petitioner is confined, because the court must have jurisdiction over the custodian. It found that Mars was in Department of Correction custody in connection with criminal charges pending in Queens County, which is in the Eastern District of New York. Relying on 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), the court transferred the petition to that district in the interest of justice. The court expressly stated that it was not deciding whether the petition was ripe for review.

Disposition

The court directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York and stated that the order closed the case in the Southern District of New York. Judge Gregory H. Woods also stated that a certificate of appealability would not issue because Mars had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The transfer order did not resolve the legality of Mars’s arrest, vehicle search, or detention.