Opinion
Case No.18-cv-03313-JSC
06-13-2018
KARIM BADAWI, Plaintiff, v. DAVID W. JENNINGS, et al., Defendants.
ORDER OF TRANSFER
Re: Dkt. Nos. 2, 3
Petitioner is being detained by the United States Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") in Bakersfield, California, pursuant to an order of removal. He filed this petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. He challenges the validity of his continued detention by the DHS.
"[V]enue considerations may, and frequently will, argue in favor of adjudication of the habeas claim in the jurisdiction where the habeas petitioner is confined." Chatman-Bey v. Thornburgh, 864 F.2d 804, 814 (D.C. Cir. 1988); see also McCoy v. United States Bd. of Parole, 537 F.2d 962, 966 (8th Cir. 1976) ("Once the custodian of the petitioner is properly served, the question is no longer jurisdictional, but one of the most convenient forum for litigation."); 1 J. S. Liebman, supra, § 10.2(d) at 141 ("Personal jurisdiction is only the first 'proper forum' hurdle the petitioner must clear."). Transfer of a petition to another district court may therefore be in order on grounds of convenience. Braden, 410 U.S. at 499 n.15; McCoy, 537 F.2d at 966; United States ex rel. Meadows v. New York, 426 F.2d 1176, 1183 n.9 (2d Cir. 1970).
Federal courts generally take the position that the district of confinement "is normally the forum most convenient to the parties," McCoy, 537 F.2d at 966, and therefore exercise discretion in transferring petitions to the district of confinement "in the interests of justice" pursuant 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). See id.; see also Dunne v. Henman, 875 F.2d 244, 249-50 (9th Cir. 1989) (suggesting that even where district court has personal jurisdiction over custodian, preferred forum is district where petitioner is confined). This practice is supported by the fact that a prisoner's records follow him to the place of incarceration and in that it promotes uniformity in the filing of Section 2241 petitions; in contrast, a system that allows a prisoner in California to challenge the execution of his federal sentence in any of the four district courts within the state, since they all have personal jurisdiction over any California custodian, works against this. A transfer to the district of confinement on convenient forum grounds is therefore preferable as long as no undue delay is created. Chatman-Bey, 864 F.2d at 814 ("Delay is undesirable in all aspects of our justice system, but it is especially to be avoided in the sensitive context of habeas corpus.").
Bakersfield, where Petitioner is confined, is located within the venue of the Eastern District of California. See 28 U.S.C. § 84. Accordingly, in the interest of justice, this case is TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.
In light of this transfer, ruling on Petitioner's application to proceed in forma pauperis and for appointment of counsel are deferred to the Eastern District. The Clerk shall terminate these motions from this Court's docket (docket numbers 2, 3), and shall transfer this matter forthwith.
IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: June 13, 2018
/s/_________
JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY
United States Magistrate Judge
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
That on June 13, 2018, I SERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by placing said copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by depositing said envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office delivery receptacle located in the Clerk's office. Karim Badawi ID: 042166219
425 Golden State Avenue
Dorm D-27 Low
Bakersfield, CA 93301 Dated: June 13, 2018
Susan Y. Soong
Clerk, United States District Court
By:/s/_________
Ada Means, Deputy Clerk to the
Honorable JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY