Towner v. Silva

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California transferred Jeremy M. Towner's 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas corpus action to the Northern District of California. The court determined that the challenged conviction arose in Santa Cruz County and ordered transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) in the interest of justice.

Holdings

1. A § 2254 petition challenging a conviction from Santa Cruz County should have been filed in the Northern District of California because the relevant conviction arose there; the Eastern District was the wrong district for the action.
2. When a case is filed in the wrong federal district, the court may transfer it to the proper district in the interest of justice under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a).

Questions Presented

1. Whether venue was proper in the Eastern District of California for a § 2254 petition challenging a conviction from Santa Cruz County.
2. Whether the court should transfer the action to the Northern District of California in the interest of justice under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a).

Disposition

remanded