SPENCER v. KEMNA, SUPERINTENDENT, WESTERN MISSOURI CORRECTIONAL CENTER, ET AL.
No. 96-7171
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 12, 1997—Decided March 3, 1998
James R. Layton, Chief Deputy Attorney General of Missouri, argued the cause for respondents. With him on the brief were Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Attorney General, pro se, and Stephen D. Hawke, Stacy L. Anderson, and Michael J. Spillane, Assistant Attorneys General.*
In his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, Randy G. Spencer seeks to invalidate a September 24, 1992, order revoking his parole. Because Spencer has completed the entire term of imprisonment underlying the parole revocation, we must decide whether his petition is moot.
I
On October 17, 1990, petitioner began serving concurrent 3-year sentences in Missouri on convictions of felony stealing and burglary. On April 16, 1992, he was released on parole, but on September 24, 1992, the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole, after hearing, issued an Order of Revocation revoking the parole. The order concluded that petitioner had violated three of the conditions, set forth in Missouri‘s Code of Regulations, Title 14, § 80-3.010 (1992), that a Missouri inmate must comply with in order to remain on parole:
“NOW, THEREFORE, after careful consideration of evidence presented, said charges which warrant revocation are sustained, to wit:
“#1-LAWS: I will obey all federal and state laws, municipal and county ordinances. I will report all arrests to my Probation and Parole Officer within 48 hours. “#6-DRUGS: I will not have in my possession or use any controlled substance except as prescribed for me by a licensed medical practitioner.
“#7-WEAPONS: I will, if my probation or parole is based on a misdemeanor involving firearms or explosives, or any felony charge, not own, possess, purchase, receive, sell or transport any firearms, ammunition or explosive device or any dangerous weapon as defined by federal, state or municipal laws or ordinances.” App. 55-56.
The specific conduct that violated these conditions was described only by citation of the parole violation report that the board used in making its determination: “Evidence relied upon for violation is from the Initial Violation Report dated 7-27-92.” Id., at 56.
That report, prepared by State Probation and Parole Officer Jonathan Tintinger, summarized a June 3, 1992, police report prepared by the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, according to which a woman had alleged that petitioner, after smoking crack cocaine with her at a local crack house and later at his own home, pressed a screwdriver against her side and raped her. According to the Kansas City report, petitioner had admitted smoking crack cocaine with the woman, but claimed that the sexual intercourse between them had been consensual. Officer Tintinger‘s report then described his own interview with petitioner, at which petitioner again admitted smoking crack cocaine with the woman, denied that he had pressed a screwdriver to her side, and did not respond to the allegation of rape. Finally, after noting that “Spencer [was] a registered sex offender, having been given a five-year prison sentence for Sodomy in 1983,” id., at 75, Officer Tintinger‘s report tentatively recommended that petitioner‘s parole be continued, but that he be
On being returned to prison, petitioner began his efforts to invalidate the Order of Revocation. He first sought relief in the Missouri courts, but was rejected by the Circuit Court of De Kalb County, the Missouri Court of Appeals, and, finally, the Missouri Supreme Court. Then, on April 1, 1993, just over six months before the expiration of his 3-year sentence, petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, see
Over petitioner‘s objections, the District Court granted the
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the District Court‘s judgment,2 concluding that, under our decision in Lane v. Williams, 455 U. S. 624, 632 (1982), petitioner‘s claim had become moot because he suffered no “collateral consequences” of the revocation order. 91 F. 3d 1114 (1996). (It acknowledged that this interpretation of Lane did not accord with that of the Second and Ninth Circuits in United States v. Parker, 952 F. 2d 31 (CA2 1991),
II
The District Court‘s conclusion that Spencer‘s release from prison caused his petition to be moot because it no longer satisfied the “in custody” requirement of the habeas statute was in error. Spencer was incarcerated by reason of the parole revocation at the time the petition was filed, which is all the “in custody” provision of
An incarcerated convict‘s (or a parolee‘s) challenge to the validity of his conviction always satisfies the case-or-controversy requirement, because the incarceration (or the restriction imposed by the terms of the parole) constitutes a concrete injury, caused by the conviction and redressable by invalidation of the conviction. Once the convict‘s sentence has expired, however, some concrete and continuing injury other than the now-ended incarceration or parole—some “collateral consequence” of the conviction—must exist if the suit is to be maintained. See, e. g., Carafas, supra, at 237-238. In recent decades, we have been willing to presume that a wrongful criminal conviction has continuing collateral consequences (or, what is effectively the same, to count collateral consequences that are remote and unlikely to occur). See Sibron v. New York, 392 U. S. 40, 55-56 (1968).
The present petitioner, however, does not attack his convictions for felony stealing and burglary, which he concedes were lawful; he asserts only the wrongful termination of his parole status. The reincarceration that he incurred as a result of that action is now over, and cannot be undone. Subsistence of the suit requires, therefore, that continuing “collateral consequences” of the parole revocation be either proved or presumed. And the first question we confront is whether the presumption of collateral consequences which is applied to criminal convictions will be extended as well to revocations of parole. To answer that question, it is helpful to review the origins of and basis for the presumption.
Originally, we required collateral consequences of conviction to be specifically identified, and we accepted as sufficient to satisfy the case-or-controversy requirement only concrete disadvantages or disabilities that had in fact occurred, that were imminently threatened, or that were imposed as a matter of law (such as deprivation of the right to vote, to hold office, to serve on a jury, or to engage in certain businesses). Thus, in St. Pierre v. United States, 319 U. S. 41 (1943) (per curiam), one of the first cases to recognize collateral consequences of conviction as a basis for avoiding mootness, we refused to allow St. Pierre‘s challenge to a contempt citation after he had completed his 5-month sentence, because “petitioner [has not] shown that under either state or federal law further penalties or disabilities can be imposed on him as a result of the judgment which has now been satisfied,” id., at 43. We rejected St. Pierre‘s argument that the possibility that “the judgment [could] impair his credibility as [a] witness in any future legal proceeding” was such a penalty or disability, because “the moral stigma of a judgment which no
“It is clear that petitioner‘s cause is not moot. In consequence of his conviction, he cannot engage in certain businesses; he cannot serve as an official of a labor union for a specified period of time; he cannot vote in any election held in New York State; he cannot serve as a juror.” 391 U. S., at 237 (footnotes and citation omitted).
See also Fiswick v. United States, 329 U. S. 211, 221-223 (1946) (conviction rendered petitioner liable to deportation and denial of naturalization, and ineligible to serve on a jury, vote, or hold office); United States v. Morgan, 346 U. S. 502 (1954) (conviction had been used to increase petitioner‘s current sentence under state recidivist law); Parker v. Ellis, 362 U. S. 574, 576 (1960) (Harlan, J., concurring) (since petitioner‘s other, unchallenged convictions took away the same civil rights as the conviction under challenge, the challenge was moot); Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U. S. 629, 633, n. 2 (1968) (conviction rendered petitioner liable to revocation of his license to operate luncheonette business). Cf. Tannenbaum v. New York, 388 U. S. 439 (1967) (per curiam); Jacobs v. New York, 388 U. S. 431 (1967) (per curiam).
The gateway to abandonment of this fastidious approach to collateral consequences was Pollard v. United States, 352 U. S. 354 (1957). There, in allowing a convict who had already served his time to challenge the length of his sentence, we said, almost offhandedly, that “[t]he possibility of consequences collateral to the imposition of sentence [was] sufficiently substantial to justify our dealing with the merits,” id., at 358—citing for that possibility an earlier case involving consequences for an alien (which there is no reason to
There are several relevant observations to be made regarding these developments: First, it must be acknowledged that the practice of presuming collateral consequences (or of accepting the remote possibility of collateral consequences as adequate to satisfy Article III) sits uncomfortably beside the “long-settled principle that standing cannot be ‘inferred argumentatively from averments in the pleadings, but rather
“The question whether a particular person is a proper party to maintain the action does not, by its own force, raise separation of powers problems related to improper judicial interference in areas committed to other branches of the Federal Government. Such problems arise, if at all, only from the substantive issues the individual seeks to have adjudicated. Thus, in terms of Article III limitations on federal court jurisdiction, the question of standing is related only to whether the dispute sought to be adjudicated will be presented in an adversary context and in a form historically viewed as capable of judicial resolution.” Id., at 100-101.
See Benton v. Maryland, supra, at 790-791 (“Although this possibility [of collateral consequences] may well be a remote one, it is enough to give this case an adversary cast and make it justiciable“). That parsimonious view of the function of Article III standing has since yielded to the acknowledgment that the constitutional requirement is a “means of ‘defin[ing] the role assigned to the judiciary in a tripartite allocation of power,‘” Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc., 454 U. S. 464, 474 (1982),4 and “a part of the basic charter... provid[ing] for the interaction between [the federal] government and the governments of the several States,” id., at 476. See also Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 559-560 (1992). And finally, of particular relevance to the question whether the practice of presuming collateral consequences should be extended to challenges of parole termination: In the context of criminal conviction, the presumption of significant collateral consequences is likely to comport with reality. As we said in Sibron, it is an “obvious fact of life that most criminal convictions do in fact entail adverse collateral legal consequences.” 392 U. S., at 55. The same cannot be said of parole revocation.
For these reasons, perhaps, we have hitherto refused to extend our presumption of collateral consequences (or our willingness to accept hypothetical consequences) to the area of parole revocation. In Lane v. Williams, 455 U. S. 624 (1982), we rejected the contention of convicted felons who had completed their sentences that their challenges to their sentences of three years’ mandatory parole at the conclusion of their fixed terms of incarceration (which parole they had violated) were not moot because the revocations of parole could be used to their detriment in future parole proceedings should they ever be convicted of other crimes. We said:
“The doctrine of Carafas and Sibron is not applicable in this case. No civil disabilities such as those present in Carafas result from a finding that an individual has violated his parole.” Id., at 632.
“[Carafas] concerned existing civil disabilities; as a result of the petitioner‘s conviction, he was presently
barred from holding certain offices, voting in state elections, and serving as a juror. This case involves no such disability.” Id., at 632-633, n. 13.
It was not enough that the parole violations found by the revocation decision would enable the parole board to deny respondents parole in the future, see id., at 639-640 (Marshall, J., dissenting) (quoting Illinois rules governing denial of parole). For such violations “[did] not render an individual ineligible for parole under Illinois law[,] [but were] simply one factor, among many, that may be considered by the parole authority....” Id., at 633, n. 13. And, in any event, “[t]he parole violations that remain a part of respondents’ records cannot affect a subsequent parole determination unless respondents again violate state law, are returned to prison, and become eligible for parole. Respondents themselves are able—and indeed required by law—to prevent such a possibility from occurring.” Ibid. In addition, we rejected as collateral consequences sufficient to keep the controversy alive the possibility that the parole revocations would affect the individuals’ “employment prospects, or the sentence imposed [upon them] in a future criminal proceeding.” Id., at 632. These “nonstatutory consequences” were dependent upon “[t]he discretionary decisions... made by an employer or a sentencing judge,” which are “not governed by the mere presence or absence of a recorded violation of parole,” but can “take into consideration, and are more directly influenced by, the underlying conduct that formed the basis for the parole violation.” Id., at 632-633.5
III
Petitioner asserts four concrete injuries-in-fact attributable to his parole revocation. First, he claims that the revocation could be used to his detriment in a future parole proceeding. This possibility is no longer contingent on petitioner‘s again violating the law; he has already done so, and is currently serving a 7-year term of imprisonment. But it is, nonetheless, still a possibility rather than a certainty or even a probability. Under Missouri law, as under the Illinois law addressed in Lane, a prior parole revocation “[does] not render an individual ineligible for parole[,] [but is] simply one factor, among many, that may be considered by the parole authority in determining whether there is a substantial risk that the parole candidate will not conform to reasonable conditions of parole.” 455 U. S., at 633, n. 13. Under Missouri law, “[w]hen in its opinion there is reasonable probability that an offender... can be released without detriment to the community or himself, the board may in its discretion release or parole such person.”
“[W]e are... unable to conclude that the case-or-controversy requirement is satisfied by general assertions or inferences that in the course of their activities respondents will be prosecuted for violating valid criminal laws. We assume that respondents will conduct their activities within the law and so avoid prosecution and conviction.” O‘Shea v. Littleton, 414 U. S. 488, 497 (1974).
See also Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U. S. 95, 102-103 (1983).
For similar reasons, we reject petitioner‘s third and fourth contentions, that the parole revocation (and, specifically, the “finding of a parole violation for forcible rape and armed criminal action,” see Brief for Petitioner 34) could be used to impeach him should he appear as a witness or litigant in a future criminal or civil proceeding; or could be used against him directly, pursuant to
Petitioner raises three more arguments, none of which seems to us well taken. First, he contends that since our decision in Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U. S. 477 (1994), would foreclose him from pursuing a damages action under
Secondly, petitioner argues in his reply brief that this case falls within the exception to the mootness doctrine for cases that are “capable of repetition, yet evading review.” Reply Brief for Petitioner 5. “[T]he capable-of-repetition doctrine applies only in exceptional situations,” Lyons, supra, at 109, “where the following two circumstances [are] simultaneously present: ‘(1) the challenged action [is] in its duration too short to be fully litigated prior to cessation or expiration, and (2) there [is] a reasonable expectation that the same complaining party [will] be subject to the same action again,‘” Lewis, 494 U. S., at 481 (quoting Murphy v. Hunt, 455 U. S. 478, 482 (1982) (per curiam), in turn quoting Weinstein v. Bradford, 423 U. S. 147, 149 (1975) (per curiam)); see also Norman v. Reed, 502 U. S. 279, 288 (1992). Petitioner‘s case satisfies neither of these conditions. He has not shown (and we doubt that he could) that the time between parole revocation and expiration of sentence is always so short as to evade review. Nor has he demonstrated a reasonable likelihood that he will once again be paroled and have that parole revoked.
Finally, petitioner argues that, even if his case is moot, that fact should be ignored because it was caused by the dilatory tactics of the state attorney general‘s office and the delay of the District Court. But mootness, however it may have come about, simply deprives us of our power to act; there is nothing for us to remedy, even if we were disposed to do so. We are not in the business of pronouncing that past actions which have no demonstrable continuing effect were right or wrong. As for petitioner‘s concern that law enforcement officials and district judges will repeat with impunity the mootness-producing abuse that he alleges occurred here: We are confident that, as a general matter, district courts will prevent dilatory tactics by the litigants and will not unduly delay their own rulings; and that, where appropriate, corrective mandamus will issue from the courts of appeals.
*
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For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals.
It is so ordered.
JUSTICE SOUTER, with whom JUSTICE O‘CONNOR, JUSTICE GINSBURG, and JUSTICE BREYER join, concurring.
I join the Court‘s opinion as well as the judgment, though I do so for an added reason that the Court does not reach, but which I spoke to while concurring in a prior case. One of Spencer‘s arguments for finding his present interest ade-
The petitioner in Heck was an inmate with a direct appeal from his conviction pending, who brought a § 1983 action for damages against state officials who were said to have acted unconstitutionally in arresting and prosecuting him. Drawing an analogy to the tort of malicious prosecution, we ruled that an inmate‘s § 1983 claim for damages was unavailable because he could not demonstrate that the underlying criminal proceedings had terminated in his favor.
To be sure, the majority opinion in Heck can be read to suggest that this favorable-termination requirement is an element of any § 1983 action alleging unconstitutional conviction, whether or not leading to confinement and whether or not any confinement continued when the § 1983 action was filed. Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S., at 483-484, 486-487. Indeed, although Heck did not present such facts, the majority acknowledged the possibility that even a released prisoner might not be permitted to bring a § 1983 action implying
Concurring in the judgment in Heck, I suggested a different rationale for blocking an inmate‘s suit with a requirement to show the favorable termination of the underlying proceedings. In the manner of Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U. S. 475 (1973), I read the “general” § 1983 statute in light of the “specific” federal habeas statute, which applies only to persons “in custody,”
I also thought we were bound to recognize the apparent scope of § 1983 when no limitation was required for the sake of honoring some other statute or weighty policy, as in the instance of habeas. Accordingly, I thought it important to read the Court‘s Heck opinion as subjecting only inmates seeking § 1983 damages for unconstitutional conviction or confinement to “a requirement analogous to the malicious-prosecution tort‘s favorable-termination requirement,” id., at 500, lest the plain breadth of § 1983 be unjustifiably limited at the expense of persons not “in custody” within the meaning of the habeas statute. The subsequent case of Edwards v. Balisok, 520 U. S. 641 (1997), was, like Heck itself, a suit by a prisoner and so for present purposes left the law where it was after Heck. Now, as then, we are forced to recognize that any application of the favorable-termination requirement to § 1983 suits brought by plaintiffs not in custody would produce a patent anomaly: a given claim for relief from unconstitutional injury would be placed beyond the scope of
The better view, then, is that a former prisoner, no longer “in custody,” may bring a § 1983 action establishing the unconstitutionality of a conviction or confinement without being bound to satisfy a favorable-termination requirement that it would be impossible as a matter of law for him to satisfy. Thus, the answer to Spencer‘s argument that his habeas claim cannot be moot because Heck bars him from relief under § 1983 is that Heck has no such effect. After a prisoner‘s release from custody, the habeas statute and its exhaustion requirement have nothing to do with his right to any relief.
JUSTICE GINSBURG, concurring.
The Court held in Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U. S. 477 (1994), that a state prisoner may not maintain an action under
JUSTICE STEVENS, dissenting.
An official determination that a person has committed a crime may cause two different kinds of injury. It may result in tangible harms such as imprisonment, loss of the right to vote or to bear arms, and the risk of greater punishment if another crime is committed. It may also severely injure the person‘s reputation and good name.
In holding that petitioner‘s case is moot, the Court relies heavily on our opinion in Lane v. Williams, 455 U. S. 624 (1982) (opinion of STEVENS, J.). See ante, at 12-16. Lane, however, is inapposite. In Lane, the respondents did not seek to challenge the factual findings underlying their parole revocations. 455 U. S., at 633. Instead, they simply sought to challenge their sentences; yet because they had been released by the time the case reached us, the case was moot. Id., at 631. “Through the mere passage of time, respondents ha[d] obtained all the relief that they sought.” Id., at 633.
In this case, petitioner challenges the factual findings on which his parole revocation was based. His parole was revoked based on an official determination that he committed the crime of forcible rape.1 Assuming, as the Court does,
Given the serious character of a finding that petitioner is guilty of forcible rape, that question must be answered affirmatively. It may well be true that many prisoners have already caused so many self-inflicted wounds to their good names that an additional finding of guilt may have only a de minimis impact on their reputations. I do not believe, however, that one can say that about a finding that an individual has committed a serious felony.3 Moreover, even if one may question the wisdom of providing a statutory remedy to redress such an injury, I surely cannot accept the view
Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.8