Filed: Dec. 12, 2006
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT December 12, 2006 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 05-21051 Conference Calendar SIMON TERRY JEFFERY, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus RISSIE OWENS, Chairman, Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles; ELVIS HIGHTOWER, Board Member, Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles; GERALD GARRETT, Parole Commissioner, Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles; JAMES PAUL KIEL, Parole Commissioner, Texas Board of Pa
Summary: United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT December 12, 2006 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 05-21051 Conference Calendar SIMON TERRY JEFFERY, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus RISSIE OWENS, Chairman, Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles; ELVIS HIGHTOWER, Board Member, Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles; GERALD GARRETT, Parole Commissioner, Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles; JAMES PAUL KIEL, Parole Commissioner, Texas Board of Par..
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United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT December 12, 2006
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 05-21051
Conference Calendar
SIMON TERRY JEFFERY,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
RISSIE OWENS, Chairman, Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles;
ELVIS HIGHTOWER, Board Member, Texas Board of Pardons and
Paroles; GERALD GARRETT, Parole Commissioner, Texas Board of
Pardons and Paroles; JAMES PAUL KIEL, Parole Commissioner,
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles,
Defendants-Appellees.
--------------------
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:05-CV-3527
--------------------
Before KING, WIENER, and OWEN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Simon Terry Jeffery, Texas prisoner # 283045, filed an in
forma pauperis (IFP) 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint against various
members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole seeking monetary
damages and injunctive relief because he was denied parole based
on arrests that had been expunged from his record. The district
court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim upon
which relief may be granted because Jeffery’s claims were barred
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
No. 05-21051
-2-
by Heck v. Humphrey,
512 U.S. 477 (1994). This court reviews
such a dismissal de novo. Bazrowx v. Scott,
136 F.3d 1053, 1054
(5th Cir. 1998).
A state prisoner may not maintain a § 1983 action if a
judgment in favor of the prisoner would necessarily imply the
invalidity of his conviction or sentence, unless the prisoner can
demonstrate that the conviction or sentence already had been
invalidated.
Heck, 512 U.S. at 487; Edwards v. Balisok,
520 U.S.
641, 648 (1997). The rule in Heck applies to proceedings that
call into question the fact or duration of parole. Littles v.
Bd. of Pardons and Paroles Div.,
68 F.3d 122, 123 (5th Cir. 1995)
(applying Heck to parole revocation).
Jeffery’s argument that his claim if successful would not
necessarily imply the invalidity of his parole proceedings is
based on Wilkinson v. Dotson,
544 U.S. 74, 78-83 (2005). In
Wilkinson, the Supreme Court held that the claims of two state
prisoners challenging the validity of state procedures for
determining parole eligibility were properly brought under § 1983
because “neither prisoner’s claim would necessarily spell
speedier release, neither lies at ‘the core of habeas corpus.’”
Wilkinson, 544 U.S. at 82.
Unlike the prisoners in Wilkinson, Jeffery is not making a
general challenge to parole procedures, he alleged a specific
error in his case - that the Board wrongly considered arrests
which had been expunged to deny him parole. Jeffery sought a
No. 05-21051
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declaratory judgment stating that the consideration of those
arrests was error and that the error was the sole reason for the
denial of parole. Additionally, Jeffery sought compensatory and
punitive damages for the alleged actions that caused him to be
denied parole. Granting this relief necessarily implies that
Jeffery was denied parole in error. The district court did not
err in determining that Jeffery may not obtain relief under
§ 1983 until the decision to deny him parole is reversed or
otherwise called into question. See
Heck, 512 U.S. at 486-87;
Littles, 68 F.3d at 123.
Jeffery’s appeal is without arguable merit and is frivolous.
See Howard v. King,
707 F.2d 215, 219-20 (5th Cir. 1983).
Because the appeal is frivolous, it is dismissed. See 5TH CIR.
R. 42.2.
The district court’s dismissal of Jeffery’s § 1983 complaint
for failure to state a claim and this court’s dismissal of this
appeal as frivolous both count as strikes for purposes of 28
U.S.C. § 1915(g). See Adepegba v. Hammons,
103 F.3d 383, 385-87
(5th Cir. 1996). Jeffery has a prior strike. Jeffery v.
Canales, No. H-04-3798 (S.D. Tex. Oct. 8, 2004) (unpublished).
Because Jeffery has accumulated at least three strikes under
§ 1915(g), he is barred from proceeding IFP in any civil action
or appeal filed while he is incarcerated or detained in any
facility unless he is under imminent danger of serious physical
injury. See § 1915(g).
No. 05-21051
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APPEAL DISMISSED; 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) BAR IMPOSED.