Ricky Bell v. Pamela Ann Peters and James R. Carter

Heck v. Humphrey, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 2364, 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994), affirming on different and far-reaching grounds a decision by this court, has changed the law governing prisoners’ civil rights eases in an important respect which we wish to flag for the bench and bar of this circuit. A common type of prisoners’ civil rights suit is one in which the prisoner charges that his conviction was procured by unconstitutional conduct. Since such a charge, if sustained, would imply that the conviction was invalid, and thus require that the prisoner be released from the custody in which he was being…