Opinion ID: 345748
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: collateral proceedings

Text: 19 During oral argument this Court was apprised for the first time of collateral state and federal proceedings instituted by the plaintiff-appellant in this case, in which he raised the same claim as that presented here. 2 20 Subsequent to the filing of his complaint in this section 1983 action, and apparently after the appeal to this Court was perfected, the plaintiff filed a habeas corpus petition in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana before the same judge who dismissed the complaint in this case, Ben C. Dawkins, Jr. 21 In an opinion dated March 15, 1976, the court rejected all of the plaintiff's claims, including that presented here, although on different grounds from those offered in the opinion-order which is the subject of this appeal. In the habeas corpus opinion Judge Dawkins stated that a certified record of state court proceedings reveals that Robinson has exhausted his state remedies. That opinion is not a part of the record compiled for the plaintiff's present appeal from the dismissal of his section 1983 action. Nevertheless, the suggestion that Robinson has exhausted his state court remedies reveals the incompleteness of the record in this case. Further, the opinion in the habeas corpus case suggests a more complete evaluation of the merits of the plaintiff's Swain claims than does the court's original opinion in this action. To avoid irrelevant and unnecessary judicial rulings, we remand this case to the district court so that a more complete record can be compiled as a basis for findings by the district court on the exhaustion question, the plaintiff's Swain claim, and defenses that the defendants may wish to raise. This approach prevents redundant legal proceedings and gives the plaintiff's attorney the benefit of the full record in this case in presenting his client's contentions in the district court. 22 VACATED AND REMANDED.