The following excerpt is from McKinley v. Janda, Case No.: 15cv0228-WQH (RBB) (S.D. Cal. 2019):
Furthermore, even if Plaintiff could make such a showing, both Defendants are still entitled to summary judgment because success on count one would necessarily call into question the validity of the guilty finding for possession of marijuana and the resultant loss of custody credits. "[I]n order to recover damages for allegedly unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment, or for other harm caused by actions whose unlawfulness would render a conviction or sentence invalid, a 1983 plaintiff must 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, 28 U.S.C. 2254." Heck, 512 U.S. at 486-87. A civil rights claim challenging the legality of a conviction or the length of confinement that has not been so invalidated is not cognizable under 42 U.S.C. 1983. Id. at 487; see Edwards v. Balisok, 520 U.S. 641, 643 (1997) (extending Heck to a claim challenging procedural defects in prison disciplinary proceedings resulting in loss of good-time credits).
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