Opinion
C.A. No. C-05-305 06-103.
March 8, 2006
OPINION AND ORDER OF TRANSFER
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 January 31, 2000, in the Criminal District Court of Jefferson County in Beaumont, Texas.
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 Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division, 28 U.S.C. § 124(b)(6), and he was convicted by a court located in the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division, 28 U.S.C. § 124(c)(2).
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 Jefferson County, it is more convenient for the action to be handled in the Beaumont Division of the Eastern District of Texas. The records of his conviction, the prosecutor and defense lawyer, and the witnesses are all located in the Beaumont Division of the Eastern District of Texas.
Accordingly, it is ordered that the Clerk of the Court TRANSFER this action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division. All pending motions are denied without prejudice, subject to re-urging after this action is transferred.
ORDERED.