Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 MICHAEL T PINES, Case No. 18-cv-03849-SI 8 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR 9 v. TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AND/OR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION 10 DIRECTOR OF ATASCADERO STATE HOSPITAL, et al., Re: Dkt. Nos. 2, 3 11 Defendants. 12 13 This matter is now before the court for consideration of plaintiff’s application for a 14 temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction “ordering the immediate release of 15 plaintiff from Atascadero State Hospital.” Docket No. 2 at 1. Plaintiff alleges in his civil rights 16 complaint that he is at Atascadero State Hospital because, at the end of his prison sentence, the 17 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation determined that he was a mentally 18 disordered offender (MDO) and sent him to Atascadero State Hospital, even though he did not 19 meet the criteria for an MDO commitment. Docket No. 1 at 19-20. 20 A writ of habeas is the exclusive remedy for a prisoner who seeks “‘immediate or speedier 21 release’” from confinement. Skinner v. Switzer, 562 U.S. 521, 533-34 (2011) (quoting Wilkinson 22 v. Dotson, 544 U.S. 74, 82 (2005)); see also Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 500 (1973) (“we 23 hold today that when a state prisoner is challenging the very fact or duration of his physical 24 imprisonment, and the relief he seeks is a determination that he is entitled to immediate release or 25 a speedier release from that imprisonment, his sole federal remedy is a writ of habeas corpus”). 26 Because a petition for writ of habeas corpus is the exclusive method by which a prisoner 27 may seek release from custody, plaintiff’s ex parte application for a temporary restraining order 1 Docket Nos. 2, 3. If plaintiff wants to seek his release from custody, the only sort of action he 2 || may file in federal court to obtain that relief is a petition for writ of habeas corpus. The proper 3 || venue for a habeas petition challenging a decision made in San Diego County Superior Court 4 (where plaintiff's conviction occurred) is the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of 5 California. The proper venue for a habeas petition challenging a decision made in San Luis 6 Obispo County (where Atascadero State Hospital is located) is the U.S. District Court for the 7 Central District of California. 8 The court will screen the civil rights complaint in due course, after plaintiff submits the 9 || required in forma pauperis application or pays the $400.00 filing fee. Plaintiff is reminded that 10 || failure to file a completed in forma pauperis application or pay the filing fee within 28 days of 11 filing the complaint will result in the dismissal of this action. 12 IT IS SO ORDERED. 13. |] Dated: July 10, 2018 Site. tex hn PINON SUSAN ILLSTON United States District Judge 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28