UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA STATESBORO DIVISION SCOTT JOSEPH GOLDEN, ) Petitioner, v. CV620-003 ROBERT ADAMS, Warden, Respondent. ORDER Scott Joseph Golden seeks relief from his state conviction and sentence pursuant to

. See doc. □□ His petition reveals that he is incarcerated at Jenkins Correctional Center. Jd. at 1. It further reveals that he was convicted in Floyd County, Georgia.

This Court is, therefore, not the proper forum for his petition. Federal law allows § 2254 petitions to be filed in the district within which petitioner was convicted or in the district within which he is confined.

(d); Wright v. Indiana,

(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 uv. Linahan,

, 9383 n. 9 (11th Cir. 2001); see also Mitchell v. Henderson,

, 436 (5th Cir. 1970); see Wright,

. That practice also fosters an equitable distribution of habeas cases between the districts. Floyd County lies in the Northern District of Georgia. See

(a)(3). Accordingly, this case is TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia for all further proceedings. See

(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,

at * 1 (S.D. Ga. June 12, 2013). SO ORDERED, this 14th day of January, 2019. MA port te Laid er L. Ray United States Magistrate Judge Southern District of Georgia