Robert Defoy v. John M. McCullough Superintendent: Gerald J. Pappert, Att. General: Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole

OPINION OF THE COURT

NYGAARD, Circuit Judge.

This case arises from a situation that is troubling on several accounts: First, because it highlights the procedural morass that state prisoners face in pursuing habe-as relief, and second, because it illustrates the tension between what should be the touchstone of any penal system-rehabilitation-and a convicted sex offender’s rights against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment. Presently, we must determine whether a Pennsylvania state prisoner challenging his denial of parole on Fifth Amendment grounds must first seek a writ of mandamus in…