Opinion
Civil Action 24-cv-3302 (UNA)1
11-22-2024
DARLA CHRISTINE FERGUSON, Petitioner, v. STATE OF ARKANSAS, Respondent.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
ANA C. REYES United States District Judge.
This matter is before the Court on Petitioner's application to proceed in forma pauperis and pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Petitioner, who is serving a sentence imposed by an Arkansas state court, currently is incarcerated at the McPherson Unit in Newport, Arkansas. Generally, Petitioner challenges her conviction and sentence, and demands, presumably, immediate release from custody.
Federal court review of state court convictions is available under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 only after the exhaustion of available state remedies. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1). Thereafter, “an application for a writ of habeas corpus [ ] made by a person in custody under the judgment and sentence of a State court . . . may be filed in the district court for the district wherein such person is in custody or in the district court for the district within which the State court was held which convicted and sentenced [petitioner] and each of such district courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction to entertain the application.” 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d). Because Petitioner was convicted and sentenced in Arkansas, this matter may not proceed in the District of Columbia.
For the foregoing reasons, the Court will grant the application to proceed in forma pauperis and dismiss the habeas petition without prejudice. An Order is issued separately.