Reported / Citable
Background
Kevin Kohute, a pro se prisoner incarcerated at the Smith County Jail in Tyler, Texas, submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis and a civil-rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Kohute sued the D.C. Mayors Pardon Office over Texas parole and pardons issues arising during his Texas incarceration. The complaint appeared to seek his release from Texas custody.
The Court’s Holding
Judge Anne R. Traum held that the District of Nevada was not a proper venue. No party resided in Nevada, and the events underlying Kohute’s claims occurred in Tyler, Texas.
Invoking the venue-transfer statute, the court ordered the Clerk to transfer the action to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, where Smith County is located, and to close the Nevada case. The court expressed no view on the merits or Kohute’s in forma pauperis application.
Key Takeaways
- A civil action may be transferred when it is filed in an improper venue.
- The alleged events and the plaintiff’s Texas incarceration connected the case to the Eastern District of Texas, not Nevada.
- The transfer order did not resolve the complaint’s merits or the request to proceed without prepaying fees.
Why It Matters
The order illustrates that a court may transfer, rather than adjudicate, a prisoner civil-rights action filed in a district with no apparent connection to the parties or operative events. The receiving court will address any merits and filing-fee issues in the first instance.