Opinion
Case No. 3:20-cv-00841-JE
08-10-2020
ALLEN DONNELL STANLEY, Petitioner, v. McCONNELL, Respondent.
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION
Petitioner, a prisoner at USP-Pollock in Louisiana, brings this habeas corpus case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1914, a party seeking to institute a habeas corpus proceeding shall pay a filing fee of $5.00. An action may proceed without the prepayment of a filing fee only upon a proper application to proceed in forma pauperis. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915. Petitioner has neither submitted the filing fee nor moved to proceed in forma pauperis. However, the Court should not allow Petitioner an opportunity to cure this deficiency due to another defect with his filing.
Petitioner alleges that personnel within USP-Pollock refuse to provide him with an acceptable meal. He also asserts that the utensils, drinks, and meal trays that accompany his food are insufficient. He asks the Court to order Respondent to remedy these deficiencies.
Venue in 28 U.S.C. § 2241 habeas corpus cases is appropriate only in the district in which a prisoner is incarcerated. Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, p. 443 (2004); Hernandez v. Campbell, 204 F.3d 861, 865 (9th Cir. 2000). Where Petitioner is incarcerated in the Western District of Louisiana, the District of Oregon is not the appropriate venue for this case. Accordingly, the Court should summarily dismisses this case without prejudice. See Rules 1(b) & 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases (permitting summary dismissal of § 2241 habeas petitions). The Court should also decline to transfer this case to the Western District of Louisiana where Petitioner represents that he has not exhausted his administrative remedies, and where it does not appear that he presents any cognizable habeas corpus claims. See Ramirez v. Galaza, 334 F.3d 850, 858-59 (9th Cir. 2003) ("habeas jurisdiction is absent and a [civil rights] action proper, where a successful challenge to a prison condition will not necessarily shorten the prisoner's sentence"); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) (transfers are appropriate where it they are in the interests of justice).
RECOMMENDATION
The Court should summarily dismiss the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (#1), and issue a Judgment dismissing the case without prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED this 10th day of August, 2020.
/s/ John Jelderks
John Jelderks
United States Magistrate Judge