UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA SAVANNAH DIVISION

PATRICK JOE BRIDWELL, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) CV422-018 ) TIMOTHY C. WARD, Commissioner, ) Georgia Department of Corrections, ) ) Respondent. )

ORDER

Patrick Joe Bridwell seeks relief from his state conviction and sentence pursuant to

. See doc. 1; see also doc. 4 at 9- 30.1 His petition reveals that he is incarcerated at Coffee County Correctional Facility. See doc. 4 at 9; see also doc. 1 at 3. It further reveals that he was convicted in Newton County, Georgia. Doc. 4 at 9;

1 Bridwell’s initial filing is a handwritten document captioned “Notice of Filing Federal Habeas Corpus and Request for Additional Time to File.” See generally doc. 1. Bridwell subsequently submitted a petition prepared using the standard form. See doc. 4 at 9-30. The information relevant to the instant Order is consistent in both documents. The Court has, therefore, cited to both. That citation should not be construed as implying any finding concerning the sufficiency of the original filing to initiate a § 2254 proceeding.

1 see also doc. 1 at 2. This Court is, therefore, not the proper forum for his petition.

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.2

(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 v. Linahan,

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

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

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

(a)(2). Accordingly, this case is

TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia for all further proceedings. See

(a)

2 Coffee County Correctional Facility lies in this Court’s Waycross Division. See

(c)(4). Since this Order transfers the case to the Northern District of Georgia, whether it was filed in the proper division within the Southern District is moot.

2 (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, 2018). SO ORDERED, this 24th day of February, 2022.

Christopher L. Ray United States Magistrate Judge Southern District of Georgia