Opinion
Case No. 18-cv-02494-MEJ (PR)
05-15-2018
DANIEL ELVIS BURGAN, Plaintiff, v. CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION AND REHABILITATION/PAROLE, Defendant.
ORDER OF TRANSFER
On April 26, 2018, plaintiff, an inmate at Atascadero State Hospital, filed this pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, complaining of conditions of parole imposed upon him in connection with a prior sex offense. Plaintiff requests that the conditions be removed from his file because they do not pertain to the offense for which he is currently being held.
"'Federal law opens two main avenues to relief on complaints related to imprisonment: a petition for habeas corpus, 28 U.S.C. § 2254, and a complaint under the Civil Rights Act of 1871, Rev. Stat. § 1979, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Challenges to the lawfulness of confinement or to particulars affecting its duration are the province of habeas corpus.'" Hill v. McDonough, 547 U.S. 573, 579 (2006) (quoting Muhammad v. Close, 540 U.S. 749, 750 (2004)). "An inmate's challenge to the circumstances of his confinement, however, may be brought under § 1983." Id.
A challenge to a portion of the discretionary parole conditions imposed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or parole authority may be pursued in a § 1983 action if success on the claim would not imply the invalidity of the plaintiff's conviction or state court sentence. See Thornton v. Brown, 757 F.3d 834, 841 (9th Cir. 2014). "Not all parole conditions are essential to the 'fact' of a parolee's confinement; and a parolee's challenge to parole terms that are more analogous to 'conditions' in the prison context will not speed the parolee's release from parole." Id. at 845.
Here, plaintiff does not appear to be seeking earlier release but rather challenges the conditions under which he is being held. It appears that the action was properly brought under § 1983. However, the proper venue to file a civil rights action about plaintiff's parole conditions is the United States District Court for the Central District of California, as that is the federal judicial district in which Atascadero State Hospital, which is in San Luis Obispo County, is located. See 28 U.S.C. § 84(c).
Accordingly, in the interests of justice and pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), this action is TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The Clerk of the Court is directed to transfer the case forthwith. In view of the transfer, the Court will not rule upon plaintiff's request for leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: May 15, 2018
/s/_________
MARIA-ELENA JAMES
United States Magistrate Judge