Wright v. Jamison

Background

William Harold Wright, Jr., an incarcerated petitioner representing himself, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. He challenged his federal conviction by alleging that his indictment was constitutionally defective. The conviction and sentence were entered by the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The opinion states that Wright had previously filed a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 in the Middle District of Florida. That motion was pending when Wright filed this petition, and the Florida court denied it two days later.

Reasoning

The court explained that Section 2255 is generally the proper procedure for a federal prisoner challenging the validity of a conviction or sentence. Because Wright challenged his conviction rather than the execution of his sentence, his petition might properly be treated as a Section 2255 motion. The Southern District of New York declined to make that conversion itself, while leaving the receiving court discretion to interpret the petition that way and to notify Wright if it did so.

Under the Southern District of New York’s Local Civil Rule 83.3, the court transferred the action because Wright had been convicted and sentenced in the Middle District of Florida. The transfer was made under 28 U.S.C. § 1631, which permits transfer in the interest of justice.

Ruling

Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and closed the case in the Southern District of New York. The opinion did not decide whether Wright’s indictment was constitutionally defective or otherwise reach the merits of his challenge. It also stated that no certificate of appealability would issue because the petition made no substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied. Finally, the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees.