REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

HOPE THAI CANNON, Magistrate Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Respondent's motion to transfer case to the Fort Myers Division of the Middle District of Florida. ECF Doc. 9. Previously, the Court granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis and directed service upon Respondent and the Florida Attorney General. ECF Doc. 6. The Petitioner has not filed a response or objection to the motion to transfer. Upon review of the complaint and the Respondent's motion, it appears this case should be transferred to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d), where an application for a writ of habeas corpus is made by a person in custody under the judgment and sentence of a State court of a State which contains two or more Federal judicial districts, "the application may be filed in the district court for the district wherein such person is in custody or in the district court for the district within which the State court was held which convicted and sentenced him, and each of such district courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction to entertain the application." Also, that section provides that the district court for the district wherein such an application is filed "in the exercise of its discretion and in furtherance of justice may transfer the application to the other district court for hearing and determination." Id.

Here, Petitioner's judgment of conviction and sentence was entered in Lee County, which is within the jurisdiction of the Fort Myers Division of the Middle District of Florida. On the other hand, Petitioner is currently held in custody of the Florida Department of Corrections at Franklin Correctional Institution in Franklin County, which is within the jurisdiction of the Tallahassee Division of the Northern District of Florida. While venue may lie in either jurisdiction, the state Circuit Court of Lee County, the Florida Second District Court of Appeal in Tampa, and the Criminal Appeals Division of the Office of the Attorney General are located in Tampa, in the Middle District. Thus, state court records associated with Petitioner's case and persons who are familiar therewith are located in the Middle District. ECF Doc. 6. Therefore, the Court agrees with Respondent that the Fort Myers Division of the Middle District of Florida is the appropriate venue and, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d), this case should be transferred to the Middle District of Florida.

Accordingly, it is respectfully RECOMMENDED:

1. That the clerk TRANSFER this case to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida; and

2. That the clerk close the file.

DONE AND ORDERED.

NOTICE TO THE PARTIES

Objections to these proposed findings and recommendations may be filed within 14 days after being served a copy thereof. Any different deadline that may appear on the electronic docket is for the Court's internal use only and does not control. A copy of objections shall be served upon the Magistrate Judge and all other parties. A party failing to object to a Magistrate Judge's findings or recommendations contained in a report and recommendation in accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) waives the right to challenge on appeal the district court's order based on unobjected-to factual and legal conclusions. See 11th Cir. R. 3-1; 28 U.S.C. § 636.