Dunlap v. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
JERMAINE JOSEPH DUNLAP, )
)
Petitioner, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 1:22-cv-01798 (UNA)
)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT )
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, )
)
Respondent. )
MEMORANDUM
OPINION
This matter is before the court on its initial review of petitioner’s pro se petition for writ of
habeas corpus, ECF No. 1, which consists of broad observations and challenges petitioner’s state
conviction and sentence, and an application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”), ECF
No. 2. Petitioner is currently in the custody of the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, and per the petition, he was convicted in the Superior Court of California, San
Bernardino.
Federal court review of state convictions is available under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 only after the
exhaustion of available state remedies. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1). Thereafter, “an application for a
writ of habeas corpus [ ] made by a person in custody under the judgment and sentence of a State
court . . . may be filed in the district court for the district wherein such person is in custody or in
the district court for the district within which the State court was held which convicted and
sentenced [petitioner] and each of such district courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction to entertain
the application.” 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d). Petitioner was convicted and sentenced in California.
Therefore, this court lacks jurisdiction over this matter.
Consequently, petitioner’s IFP application is granted, and this matter is dismissed without
prejudice. A separate order accompanies this memorandum opinion.
Date: July 29, 2022
__________/s/______________
CARL J. NICHOLS
United States District Judge