ALD-187 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
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No. 14-4028
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RICHARD D. TAYLOR,
Appellant
v.
CARL C. DANBERG, Commissioner; WARDEN JAMES T. VAUGHN
CORRECTIONAL CENTER; ANTHONY RENDINO, Classification Administrator;
DOES, Delaware Department of Corrections Central Offender Records
____________________________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Delaware
(D. Del. Civil No. 1-12-cv-00024)
District Judge: Honorable Gregory M. Sleet
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Submitted for Possible Dismissal Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)
or Summary Action Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6
April 30, 2015
Before: RENDELL, CHAGARES and SCIRICA, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: May 26, 2015)
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OPINION*
_________
PER CURIAM
*
This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.
Richard Taylor, a Delaware state prisoner proceeding pro se, appeals an order of
the United States District Court for the District of Delaware granting summary judgment
for the defendants in his civil rights action. For the reasons that follow, we will affirm
the judgment of the District Court.
In 1971, Taylor was convicted in Delaware state court of first degree kidnapping
and first degree rape. He received two concurrent sentences of life in prison. Taylor was
released on parole in 1986 and his parole was later revoked. Taylor was apparently re-
paroled several times but each time his parole was revoked. In 2004 and 2005, Taylor
filed petitions seeking habeas relief in state and federal court without success. See Taylor
v. Carroll, D. Del. Civ. No. 05-cv-00030, 2006 WL 278542 (Feb. 6, 2006).
In 2012, Taylor filed a complaint in District Court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983
against several prison officials and unidentified individuals at the Delaware Department
of Corrections Central Offender Records. Taylor alleged that he was awarded good time
and meritorious time credits, but that the defendants have withheld the accrued credits
and have failed to apply them to reduce his sentence. He stated that when he was
convicted, a life sentence was defined as 45 years and could be reduced by good time
credits. Taylor claimed that the defendants are improperly applying Delaware’s Truth in
Sentencing Act of 1989 to him in violation of the Ex Post Facto Clause and that they are
violating his Fourteenth and Eighth Amendment rights. He sought money damages and
declaratory and injunctive relief.
2
Taylor and the defendants moved for summary judgment. In granting the
defendants’ motion, the District Court ruled that Taylor’s action is barred by Heck v.
Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). In the alternative, the District Court held that it lacked
jurisdiction under the Rooker-Feldman1 doctrine. This appeal followed.
We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Our standard of review is de
novo. Renchenski v. Williams, 622 F.3d 315, 324 (3d Cir. 2010).
In Heck v. Humphrey, the Supreme Court held that a state prisoner’s claim for
damages is not cognizable under § 1983 if “a judgment in favor of the plaintiff would
necessarily imply the invalidity of his conviction or sentence,” unless the prisoner can
show that the conviction or sentence has been invalidated. Edwards v. Balisok, 520 U.S.
641, 643 (1997) (quoting Heck, 512 U.S. at 487). The Court in Heck explained that the
principle that civil tort actions are not the proper vehicles to challenge the validity of a
criminal judgment applies to § 1983 damages actions that necessarily require the plaintiff
to prove the unlawfulness of his conviction or confinement. Heck, 512 U.S. at 486.
Similarly, in Balisok, the Supreme Court ruled that a claim for damages and declaratory
relief brought by a state prisoner challenging the validity of the procedures used in his
disciplinary proceedings to deprive him of good time credits is not cognizable under
§ 1983 if a judgment in his favor would necessarily imply the invalidity of the loss of
1
Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413 (1923); District of Columbia Court of
Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462 (1983).
3
good time credits. Balisok, 520 U.S. at 643-46. Restoration of good time credits must be
sought in a habeas proceeding. See id. at 643-44.
Taylor contends that he has been deprived of good time and meritorious time
credits, not through a disciplinary proceeding, but by the prison’s failure to apply his
accrued credits to reduce his sentence. Taylor’s claim is not cognizable under § 1983
because success in his action would establish the invalidity of the duration of his
confinement. See Wilkinson v. Dotson, 544 U.S. 74, 81-82 (2005) (“a state prisoner’s
§ 1983 action is barred (absent prior invalidation) – no matter the relief sought (damages
or equitable relief), no matter the target of the prisoner’s suit (state conduct leading to
conviction or internal prison proceedings) – if success in that action would necessarily
demonstrate the invalidity of confinement or its duration”).
Taylor has not shown that his sentence has been invalidated. As recognized by the
District Court, prior to filing his § 1983 action, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the
denial of his mandamus petition seeking to compel the Department of Corrections to
apply his accrued credits to reduce his life sentences. Taylor v. Danberg, 31 A.3d 77
(table), 2011 WL 5137182 (Del. Oct. 27, 2011).
Because this appeal does not raise a substantial question, we will summarily
affirm the judgment of the District Court.2
2
It is unnecessary to address the District Court’s alternative ruling that it lacked
jurisdiction under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.
4