MORRELL v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ( 2023 )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA COLUMBUS DIVISION KENNETH L. MORRELL, : : Petitioner : : CASE NO. 4:23-cv-00026-CDL-MSH VS. : : UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, : STATE OF GEORGIA, : : Respondents : ____________________________ ORDER Pro se Petitioner Kenneth L. Morrell, a prisoner at the Muscogee County CI in Columbus, Georgia, filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in this Court. ECF No. 1. Petitioner seeks to challenge his 2022 criminal conviction from the Fulton County Superior Court of Georgia. Id. at 1. This Court is not the appropriate venue for Petitioner’s civil action. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), a civil action may be brought in (1) a judicial district in which any defendant resides, if all defendants are residents of the State in which the district is located; (2) a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated; or (3) if there is no district in which an action may otherwise be brought as provided in this section, any judicial district in which any defendant is subject to the court's personal jurisdiction with respect to such action. Plaintiff complains about events related to his arrest and criminal trial in Fulton County. ECF No. 1. He further complains about prior actions related to challenging this conviction being dismissed in the Northern District of Georgia. Id. at 6. Plaintiff requests that his charges be dismissed and that he be released from confinement. Id. at 7. Fulton County is located in the Northern District of Georgia. 28 U.S.C. § 90(a). No portion of the events giving rise to this action occurred in this judicial district. The proper venue for this petition is in the Northern District of Georgia. Because venue is improper in this Court, “the case must be dismissed or transferred under § 1406(a).” Atlantic Marine Const. Co., Inc. v. U.S. Dist. Court for W. Dist. of Tex., 571 U.S. 49, 55 (2013) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1406). Pursuant to § 1406, “[t]he district court of a district in which is filed a case laying venue in the wrong division or district shall dismiss, or if it be in the interest of justice, transfer such case to any district or division in which it could have been brought.” 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). In the interest of justice, the Court will transfer this motion to the court in which venue would be proper. The Clerk of Court is ORDERED to TRANSFER this motion to the United States District Court for Northern District of Georgia – Atlanta Division. See 28 U.S.C. § 90(a). SO ORDERED, this 16th day of February, 2023. S/Clay D. Land CLAY D. LAND, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2