(HC) Mello v. Montgomery ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 WILLIAM D. MELLO, Case No. 1:23-cv-00484-EPG-HC 12 Petitioner, ORDER TRANSFERRING CASE TO THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR 13 v. THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 14 MONTGOMERY, 15 Respondent. 16 17 Petitioner William D. Mello is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a petition for writ 18 of habeas corpus 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 a district court, “in the exercise of its 1 | district for hearing and determination. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) (court 2 | may transfer any civil action “to any other district or division where it might have been brought” 3 | for convenience of parties or “in the interest of Justice’). 4 Here, Petitioner appears to be challenging his criminal conviction in the Riverside 5 | County Superior Court, and thus, the petition is preferably heard in the district of conviction, 6 | which is the Central District of California. Therefore, this action will be transferred. 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. 11} Dated: _ April 6, 2023 [sf ey — 2 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28