FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION APR 16 2014
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
BRYAN DAMON PATTERSON, No. 13-16443
Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 2:12-cv-01973-JAM
v.
MEMORANDUM*
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of California
John A. Mendez, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted April 7, 2014**
Before: TASHIMA, GRABER, and IKUTA, Circuit Judges.
California state prisoner Bryan Damon Patterson appeals pro se from the
district court’s judgment in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action seeking dismissal of his
criminal conviction and immediate release from prison based on the alleged
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
mishandling of evidence submitted at his criminal trial. We have jurisdiction
under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo a district court’s dismissal under 28
U.S.C. § 1915A. Resnick v. Hayes, 213 F.3d 443, 447 (9th Cir. 2000). We affirm.
The district court properly dismissed Patterson’s action challenging his
continuing confinement as barred under Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994).
See id. at 481 (civil tort actions are not appropriate vehicles for challenging the
validity of a criminal conviction or sentence); Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475,
488-89 (1973) (habeas corpus is the exclusive remedy for a state prisoner who
challenges the fact or duration of his confinement and seeks immediate or speedier
release, even though such a claim may come within the literal terms of § 1983).
Because we affirm the district court’s dismissal of the action, it follows that
Patterson is not entitled to a permanent injunction which he seeks by his latest
motion.
Patterson’s motion for default judgment, filed on October 25, 2013, is
denied.
Patterson’s motion of inquiry, filed on December 26, 2013, is denied as
moot.
2 13-16443
Patterson’s motion for a restraining order, filed on April 10, 2014, is denied
as moot.
AFFIRMED.
3 13-16443