John Wesley SMITHART, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Robert TOWERY; John A. Knight; Scott McGregor, Defendants-Appellees

Nevada state prisoner John Wesley Smit-hart appeals pro se the district court’s dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo, Kruso v. International Tel. & Tel. Corp., 872 F.2d 1416, 1421 (9th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 496 U.S. 937, 110 S.Ct. 3217, 110 L.Ed.2d 664 (1990), and affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand.

We are called upon to apply the rule of Heck v. Humphrey, - U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 2364, 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994), to an-action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 which seeks damages for, inter aha, excessive foree applied during the…