Opinion
CV423-299
10-13-2023
JARED RANDALL CARTER, Petitioner, v. JASON SHAW, Respondent.
ORDER
CHRISTOPHER L. RAY, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Jared Randall Carter seeks relief from his state conviction and sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. See doc. 1. His petition reveals that he is incarcerated at an unspecified facility in Jenkins County, Georgia. Id. at 1. It further reveals that he was convicted in Houston County, Georgia. Id. This Court is, therefore, not the proper forum for his petition.
Carter failed to pay the required filing fee and the Clerk notified him of the deficiency. See doc. 4. Payment of the filing fee is not a jurisdictional requirement. See, e.g., White v. Lemma, 947 F.3d 1373, 1378-79 (11th Cir. 2020). Since, as discussed below, it is clear that this Court is not the proper venue for Carter's claims, the transferee court is the proper place to resolve any issue with the filing fee.
Federal law allows § 2254 petitions to be filed in the district within which the petitioner was convicted or in the district within which he is confined. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d); Wright v. Indiana, 263 Fed.Appx. 794, 795 (11th Cir. 2008). Thus, this Court has jurisdiction over the petition. Nevertheless, it is a longstanding judicial policy and practice to funnel such petitions into the district within which the state prisoner was convicted, since that will be the most convenient forum. Eagle v. Linahan, 279 F.3d 926, 933 n. 9 (11th Cir. 2001); see also Mitchell v. Henderson, 432 F.2d 435, 436 (5th Cir. 1970); Wright, 263 Fed.Appx. at 795. That practice also fosters an equitable distribution of habeas cases between the districts. Houston County lies in the Middle District of Georgia. See 28 U.S.C. § 90(b)(2). Accordingly, this case is TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia for all further proceedings. See 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) (permitting a district court to transfer any civil action to another district or division where it may have been brought for the convenience of parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice); Rufus v. Kemp, 2013 WL 2659983 at * 1 (S.D. Ga. June 12, 2013).
Jenkins County lies in this Court's Statesboro Division. See 28 U.S.C. § 90(c)(6). Since this Order transfers the case to the Middle District of Georgia, whether it was filed in the proper division within the Southern District is moot.
SO ORDERED.