Lewis v. Gillis

• Court: District Court, S.D. Georgia
• Decided: January 4, 2024
• Docket: 4:23-cv-00373
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA SAVANNAH DIVISION

CHANEY K. LEWIS, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) CV423-373 ) WARDEN SHAWN GILLIS, ) ) Respondent. )

ORDER

Chaney K. Lewis seeks relief from his state conviction and sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. See doc. 1. Lewis failed to pay the filing fee or move to proceed in forma pauperis. See doc. 2. For the reasons explained below, however, this Court is not the proper forum for his Petition. The Court will, therefore, transfer it to the proper forum and any further proceedings concerning the filing fee can be addressed in the transferee court. Federal law allows § 2254 petitions to be filed in the district within which the petitioner was convicted or in the district within which he is confined. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d); Wright v. Indiana, 263 F. App’x 794, 795

1 (11th Cir. 2008). Lewis’ Petition reveals that he is currently incarcerated at Wheeler Correctional Facility.1 Doc. 1 at 1. It further

reveals that he was convicted in Ben Hill County, Georgia. Id. Thus, this Court has jurisdiction over the petition. Nevertheless, it is a longstanding judicial policy and practice to funnel such petitions into the

district within which the state prisoner was convicted, since that will be the most convenient forum. Eagle v. Linahan, 279 F.3d 926, 933 n. 9 (11th Cir. 2001); see also Mitchell v. Henderson, 432 F.2d 435, 436 (5th

Cir. 1970); Wright, 263 F. App’x at 795. That practice also fosters an equitable distribution of habeas cases between the districts. Ben Hill County lies in the Middle District of Georgia. See 28 U.S.C. § 90(b)(4).

Accordingly, this case is TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia for all further proceedings. See 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) (permitting a district court to transfer any civil action

to another district or division where it may have been brought for the

1 Wheeler Correctional Facility lies in this Court’s Dublin Division. See 28 U.S.C. § 90(c)(2). Since transfer to the Middle District of Georgia is proper, the divisional venue issue is moot.

2 convenience of parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice); Rufus

v. Kemp, 2013 WL 2659983 at * 1 (S.D. Ga. June 12, 20138). SO ORDERED, this 4th day of January, 2024. ( Lapland lies Christopher L. Ray United States Magistrate Judge Southern District of Georgia