IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 98-20636
Conference Calendar
SAMMIE NORMAN ENGLISH,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
MELINDA HOYLE BOZARTH,
Defendant-Appellee.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 97-CV-3076
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June 15, 1999
Before EMILIO M. GARZA, BENAVIDES, and PARKER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Sammie Norman English, Texas prisoner # 347034, appeals the
district court’s dismissal of a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit brought
against Melinda Bozarth, director of the Texas state parole
division. On appeal, English argues that the parole board
illegally revoked his parole because the revocation proceeding
occurred more than 120 days after he was arrested. See Tex.
Crim. Proc. Code Ann. art 42.18 § 14(a), codified at Tex. Gov’t
Code Ann. § 508.281 (requiring a revocation hearing to occur
*
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that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent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. 98-20636
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between 70 and 120 days after arrest).
English’s suit is not cognizable under § 1983. See Heck v.
Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 486-87 (1994). To recover damages for
allegedly unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment, or for
harms caused by actions whose unlawfulness would render a
conviction or sentence invalid, a § 1983 plaintiff must first
prove that the conviction or sentence has been reversed on direct
appeal, expunged by executive order, declared invalid by a state
tribunal authorized to make such determination, or called into
question by a federal court’s issuance of a writ of habeas
corpus. Id. The holding in Heck has also been applied to claims
attacking the validity of the parole proceedings. See McGrew v.
Texas Bd. of Pardons & Paroles, 47 F.3d 158, 161 (5th Cir. 1995).
English has neither alleged nor proven that his sentence has been
invalidated. See Heck, 512 U.S. at 487. Consequently, the
district court’s order dismissing English’s § 1983 suit is
AFFIRMED.