Johnson v. Unnamed

• Court: District Court, D. Nevada
• Decided: September 28, 2022
• Docket: 2:22-cv-01466
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA

4 JARREL LEE JOHNSON, Case No. 2:22-cv-01466-CDS-BNW

5 Petitioner, DISMISSAL ORDER

v. 6

7 UNNAMED RESPONDENT,

8 Respondent.

10 Petitioner Jarrell Lee Johnson has filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (ECF No. 1-1 11 (“Petition”)) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. On an initial review, the Court found jurisdiction 12 potentially lacking. ECF No. 4. As such, the Court ordered Johnson to show cause why this 13 action should not be dismissed. Id. Johnson timely filed a response. ECF No. 5. 14 Federal district courts may grant a writ of habeas corpus when a petitioner is “in custody 15 in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3). 16 Section 2241 provides, in relevant part, “Writs of habeas corpus may be granted by the Supreme 17 Court, any justice thereof, the district courts and any circuit judge within their respective 18 jurisdictions.” 28 U.S.C. § 2241(a). The United States Supreme Court has explained that the 19 phrase “within their respective jurisdictions” in § 2241 “require[s] the presence of the prisoner 20 within the territorial jurisdiction of the District Court as a prerequisite to his filing of 21 application for habeas corpus.” United States v. Hayman, 342 U.S. 205, 220 (1952). The Ninth 22 Circuit has further explained, when a petitioner and his custodian are “within the territorial 23 jurisdiction of the district court at the time the petition for writ of habeas corpus [is] filed, the 24 district court [has] jurisdiction to determine the merits of the litigation.” Smith v. Campbell, 450 25 F.2d 829, 834 (9th Cir. 1971). 26 In his Petition, Johnson stated that he is currently detained at the Marlboro County 27 Detention Center in Bennettsville, South Carolina and has been since at least August 23, 2022, 28 when he appeared for a bench trial. ECF No. 1-1 at 1. In his response to the order to show cause, 2 Vegas. Because neither Johnson nor his unnamed custodian were in the District of Nevada on 3 the date the Petition was filed, September 6, 2022, jurisdiction is lacking. As such, this action is 4 dismissed for a lack of jurisdiction. 5 IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the clerk of the court file the petition for a writ of 6 habeas corpus (ECF No. 1-1). 7 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that that the clerk add Aaron Ford, Attorney General for 8 the State of Nevada, as counsel for respondents and provide copies of this order and all prior 9 filings to the Attorney General in a manner consistent with the clerk's current practice, such as 10 regeneration of notices of electronic filing. No response by the Attorney General is necessary. 11 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the petition for a writ of habeas corpus (ECF No. 1-1) is 12 dismissed for a lack of jurisdiction. Because reasonable jurists would not find the Court's 13 determination to be debatable or wrong, the Court will not issue a certificate of appealability 14 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the clerk of the court is directed to enter judgment 15 accordingly and to close this action. 16 DATED: September 28, 2022.

18 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28