(HC) Muniz v. Phillips ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 LUIS MIGUEL MUNIZ, Case No. 1:23-cv-00978-SAB-HC 12 Petitioner, ORDER TRANSFERRING CASE TO THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR 13 v. THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 14 BRYAN D. PHILLIPS, 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, 81 S. Ct. 338, 5 L. Ed. 2d 329 (1961)). Petitions challenging the 24 execution of a sentence are preferably heard in the district where the inmate is confined. See 25 Dunne v. Henman, 875 F.2d 244, 249 (9th Cir. 1989). Petitions challenging convictions or 26 sentences are preferably heard in the district of conviction. See Laue v. Nelson, 279 F. Supp. 27 265, 266 (N.D. Cal. 1968). Section 2241 further states that, rather than dismissing an improperly 1 | transfer” the habeas petition to another federal district for hearing and determination. Id.; see also 2 | 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) (court may transfer any civil action “to any other district or division where it 3 | might have been brought” for convenience of parties or “in the interest of justice”). 4 Here, Petitioner challenges a criminal judgment from the Los Angeles County Superior 5 | Court. (ECF No. | at 12.) Therefore, venue is proper in the district of conviction, which is the 6 | Central District of California. 7 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this action is TRANSFERRED to the 8 | United States District Court for the Central District of California. 9 10 IT IS SO ORDERED. DAM Le 11 | Dated: _June 30, 2023 _ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28