Yung v. Adams
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-03153
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Yung v. Adams, Judge Swain transferred Yung’s detention challenge to the Eastern District of New York because related criminal proceedings are in Kings County.
John Yung’s detention challenge was transferred from the Southern District of New York to the Eastern District of New York; the transferee court will decide whether the case may proceed without payment of filing fees.
What happened
In Yung v. Adams, John Yung, representing himself, challenged his detention while criminal proceedings were pending in Kings County, New York.
Yung was detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island. The court explained that detention challenges generally belong in the district covering the place of confinement or the proceedings involving the detention. Rikers Island falls within both the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, while Yung’s criminal proceedings were in Kings County, in the Eastern District.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the case transferred to the Eastern District of New York in the interest of justice. The Southern District case was closed, and the Eastern District court will decide whether Yung may proceed without paying filing fees. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal from the transfer order.
The detailed version
- Yung v. Adams · No. 1:24-cv-03153
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 25, 2024
Background
John Yung, who was detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island, filed a self-represented petition asking for relief from detention. His detention arose from criminal proceedings pending in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Criminal Court, Kings County, under case number IND-71296-23/001.
Transfer Analysis
The court explained that a court hearing a detention challenge must have jurisdiction over the person responsible for the petitioner’s custody. Challenges to physical confinement generally belong in the federal district where the person is confined. Rikers Island is generally understood to be within both the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Because Yung’s criminal proceedings were pending in Kings County, which is in the Eastern District, the court found that transferring the petition served the interest of justice under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a).
Ruling
The court directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The order closed the case in the Southern District of New York. The transferee court will decide whether Yung may proceed without paying filing fees because he had not paid the filing fee or submitted an application to proceed without paying it. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.
Effect of the Order
The opinion transferred the case; it did not decide the substance of Yung’s challenge to his detention.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.