Gustavo Ferreira Schlaucher de Souza v. Superintendent, Moshannon Valley Processing Center, et al.

Summary

The court determines that it lacks territorial jurisdiction over the petitioner's 28 U.S.C. § 2241 habeas petition because the petitioner is detained at the Moshannon Valley Correctional Facility in Clearfield County, within the Western District of Pennsylvania. Finding transfer to be in the interest of justice, the court orders the action transferred to the Western District of Pennsylvania and directs the Clerk of Court to close the case in the Middle District.

Holdings

1. A § 2241 petition must be filed in the district having territorial jurisdiction over the petitioner's immediate custodian, and because the Moshannon Valley Processing Center is physically located in Clearfield County within the Western District of Pennsylvania, the Middle District of Pennsylvania lacked jurisdiction.
2. The action should be transferred to the Western District of Pennsylvania under 28 U.S.C. § 1631 because the petition was filed in good faith, the facility's address created understandable confusion, and no equitable factor weighed against transfer.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Middle District of Pennsylvania had jurisdiction over a § 2241 habeas petition filed by an immigration detainee confined at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center.
2. Whether the court should transfer the petition to the Western District of Pennsylvania under 28 U.S.C. § 1631 in the interest of justice.

Disposition

transferred