Joe Ledezma v. James Hill

[3] 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 SAN JOSE DIVISION [7] 8 JOE LEDEZMA, Case No. 24-cv-03393-VKD 9 Petitioner, ORDER OF TRANSFER v. [10] 11 JAMES HILL, Warden, Respondent. [13] 14 Joe Ledezma, a state prisoner currently confined at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional 15 Facility in San Diego, California, filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus, challenging his 16 state conviction out of Los Angeles County. Dkt. No. 1 at 2. The Court notes that Mr. Ledezma 17 addresses the petition to the California Court of Appeal, but the petition was mailed to this district 18 court. Dkt. No. 1-1.1 19 A petition for a writ of habeas corpus made by a person in custody under the judgment and 20 sentence of a state court of a state which contains two or more federal judicial districts may be 21 filed in either the district of confinement or the district of conviction. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (d). 22 Mr. Ledezma’s district of confinement is the Southern District of California, which includes San 23 Diego County. 28 U.S.C. § 84 (d). However, Mr. Ledezma’s district of conviction is the Western 24 Division of the Central District, which includes Los Angeles County. 28 U.S.C. § 84 (c)(2). 25 Accordingly, the Northern District of California has no jurisdiction over this matter. [27] 1A search of Mr. Ledezma’s name on California’s Appellate Courts Case Information database 1 Federal courts in California traditionally have chosen to hear habeas petitions challenging a 2 state conviction or sentence in the district of conviction or sentencing. See Habeas L.R. 22543 3(b)(1); Dannenberg v. Ingle, 831 F. Supp. 767, 768 (N.D. Cal. 1993); Laue v. Nelson, 279 F. 4 Supp. 265, 266 (N.D. Cal. 1968). Accordingly, in the exercise of its discretion and in the 5 || furtherance of justice, the Court finds that this case should be transferred to the United States 6 || District Court for the Western Division of the Central District of California. See 28 U.S.C. 7 § 1406(a); Habeas L.R. 2254-3(b)(1). 8 The Clerk of the Court shall terminate all pending motions and transfer the entire file to the 9 || Western Division of the Central District of California. 10 IT IS SO ORDERED. 11 Dated: June 7, 2024 Varian E, QeDarcle 14 VIRGINIA K. DEMARCHI United States Magistrate Judge 2 16