Ballard v. Dretke

Full title: PATRICK ORLANDO BALLARD TDCJ-CID v. DOUGLAS DRETKE

Court: United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Corpus Christi Division

Date published: Mar 20, 2006

C.A. No. C-06-122 (S.D. Tex. Mar. 20, 2006)

Opinion

C.A. No. C-06-122.

March 20, 2006

OPINION AND ORDER OF TRANSFER

JANICE ELLINGTON, Magistrate Judge

This is a habeas action filed by a state prisoner incarcerated at the McConnell Unit in Beeville, Texas (D.E. 1). Petitioner states that he was convicted and sentenced on August 13, 2002, in the 23^rd Judicial District Court of Brazoria County.

A habeas action may be filed either in the district where petitioner is in custody or in the district in which petitioner was convicted. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d); Wadsworth v. Johnson, 235 F.3d 959 (5th Cir. 2000). Petitioner's place of incarceration is in the Corpus Christi Division of the Southern District of Texas, 28 U.S.C. § 124(b)(6), and he was convicted by a court located in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas. 28 U.S.C. § 124(b)(1).

For the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice, a district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where it might have been brought. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1404(a) and 1406(a). Because petitioner was convicted in Brazoria County, it is more convenient for the action to be handled in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas. The records of his conviction, the prosecutor and defense lawyer, and the witnesses are all located in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas.

Accordingly, it is ordered that the Clerk of the Court TRANSFER this action to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division. All pending motions are denied without prejudice, subject to re-urging after this action is transferred.

ORDERED.