FORREST v. SAUERS, No. 3:2013cv00067 - Document 6 (M.D. Pa. 2013)
Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER that 3 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by MICHAEL FORREST be transferred to the Middle District of Pennsylvania forthwith. Signed by Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter on 1/8/13. (lrw)[Transferred from Pennsylvania Western on 1/10/2013.]
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA MICHAEL FORREST, Petitioner, v. DEBRA K. SAUERS, et al., Respondents. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Civil Action No. 12-318 Erie Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter OPINION AND ORDER Petitioner, Michael Forrest, is currently incarcerated in the State Correctional Institution Forest ("SCI Forest"), located in Marienville, Pennsylvania. He has submitted for filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 and an accompanying motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. [ECF No. 1]. In his petition, he is challenging the judgment of sentence imposed upon him on January 29, 2010, by the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County at Criminal Docket No. CP-14CR-446-2009. SCI-Forest is located within the territorial boundaries of this District. Centre County is located within the territory of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. 28 U.S.C. § 118. The power of this Court to grant the writ is founded upon 28 U.S.C. § 2241(a), which provides that the "[w]rits of habeas corpus may be granted by the Supreme Court, any justice thereof, the district courts and any circuit judge within their respective jurisdictions." In a state such as Pennsylvania, that contains two or more Federal judicial districts, the application 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 him and each of such district courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction to entertain the application. The district court for the district wherein such an application is filed in the exercise of its discretion and in furtherance of justice may transfer the application to the other district court for hearing and determination. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d). Petitioner was tried, convicted, and sentenced in the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County and therefore most, if not all, of the relevant activity occurred within the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Therefore, this Court finds that the interest of justice would be better served by transferring this case to the Middle District of Pennsylvania. An appropriate Order follows. Dated: January 8, 2013 /s/ Susan Paradise Baxter SUSAN PARADISE BAXTER United States Magistrate Judge IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA MICHAEL FORREST, Petitioner, v. DEBRA K. SAUERS, et al., Respondents. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Civil Action No. 12-318 Erie Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter ORDER AND NOW, this __ day of January, 2013; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this case be transferred to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania FORTHWITH. /s/ Susan Paradise Baxter SUSAN PARADISE BAXTER United States Magistrate Judge
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