Rivera v. Kopp
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-08456
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Rivera v. Kopp, Judge Swain transferred Rivera’s conviction challenge to the Eastern District of New York because the conviction occurred there.
Senate Rivera, a self-represented petitioner challenging a state conviction, and M. Kopp, the named respondent. The action was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York.
What happened
Rivera v. Kopp involved Senate Rivera’s self-represented petition challenging the constitutionality of his December 17, 2018 conviction in Richmond County, New York. He was incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
The court transferred the case to the Eastern District of New York because Richmond County is located in that district. The receiving court will decide whether Rivera may continue without paying the filing fee, which he had not paid and had not asked to waive.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the transfer and closed the case in the Southern District of New York. She also ruled that no certificate allowing an appeal would issue and denied fee-free status for any appeal.
The detailed version
- Rivera v. Kopp · No. 1:23-cv-08456
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 26, 2023
Background
Senate Rivera, who was incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, filed a self-represented petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging the constitutionality of his December 17, 2018 conviction in the New York Supreme Court, Richmond County. The respondent was identified as M. Kopp, Acting Superintendent.
Transfer
The court transferred the action under Local Rule 83.3 to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The stated reason was that Richmond County, where Rivera was convicted and sentenced, is located in the Eastern District.
The opinion states that Rivera had not paid the $5 filing fee or submitted an application to waive it. It left the question of whether Rivera could proceed without paying fees to the transferee court.
Disposition
The Clerk of Court was directed to transfer the action to the Eastern District of New York, and the order states that the Southern District of New York case was closed. The court also stated that Rivera had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied, so a certificate of appealability would not issue. It further certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order on September 26, 2023.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.