What is the test for a plaintiff's claim for damages in his civil rights case?

More fundamentally, plaintiff's claims, which challenge his state court conviction and sentence, are barred by Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). In Heck, the United States Supreme Court held that a suit for damages on a civil rights claim concerning an allegedly unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment cannot be maintained absent proof "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." 512 U.S. at 486. Under Heck, the court is required to determine whether a judgment in plaintiff's favor in this case would necessarily invalidate his conviction or sentence. Id. If plaintiff is claiming that his federal constitutional rights were violated and as a result he was convicted and incarcerated, he may not recover damages in this action unless he can prove that his conviction has been reversed. As plaintiff's claims are predicated on what he characterizes as unconstitutional and unlawful sentence, his claims are barred by Heck.