(HC) Bonilla v. Alameda County ( 2019 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 STEVEN WAYNE BONILLA, Case No. 1:19-cv-01121-SAB-HC 12 Petitioner, ORDER TRANSFERRING CASE TO THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 13 v. 14 ALAMEDA COUNTY, 15 Respondent. 16 17 Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a petition for writ of habeas corpus 18 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. 19 When a state prisoner files a habeas petition in a state that contains two or more federal 20 judicial districts, the petition may be filed in either the judicial district in which the petitioner is 21 presently confined or the judicial district in which he was convicted and sentenced. See 28 22 U.S.C. § 2241(d); Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 442 (2004) (quoting Carbo v. United 23 States, 364 U.S. 611, 618 (1961)). Petitions challenging the execution of a sentence are 24 preferably heard in the district where the inmate is confined. See Dunne v. Henman, 875 F.2d 25 244, 249 (9th Cir. 1989). Petitions challenging convictions or sentences are preferably heard in 26 the district of conviction. See Laue v. Nelson, 279 F. Supp. 265, 266 (N.D. Cal. 1968). Section 27 2241 further states that, rather than dismissing an improperly filed action, a district court, “in the 1 | federal district for hearing and determination. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) 2 | (court may transfer any civil action “to any other district or division where it might have been 3 | brought” for convenience of parties or “in the interest of justice”). 4 Here, Petitioner is currently housed at the San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, 5 | which is part of the Northern District of California. Petitioner also appears to challenge a 6 | criminal judgment from the Alameda County Superior Court. Therefore, venue is proper in the 7 | district of conviction, which is the Northern District of California. 8 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this action is transferred to the United 9 | States District Court for the Northern District of California. 10 i IT IS SO ORDERED. FA. ee 12 | Dated: _ August 20, 2019 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28