Opinion ID: 3211601
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Access to Courts Claims

Text: We will affirm the dismissal of Coulston’s access to courts claims. The Constitution guarantees prisoners a “right of access to the courts.” Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 350 (1996) (emphasis omitted). Where, as here, the prisoner asserts that the defendants’ actions have inhibited his opportunity to present a past legal claim, he must show (1) he suffered an actual injury—that is, that he lost a chance to pursue a “nonfrivolous” or “arguable” underlying claim; and (2) he has no other “remedy that may be awarded as recompense” for the lost claim other than in the present denial-of-access 2 Coulston’s complaint also referenced his Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment and his right to equal protection under the laws. The District Court dismissed those claims and Coulston has not challenged their dismissal on appeal. Accordingly, we will not address those decisions here. See United States v. Pelullo, 399 F.3d 197, 222 (3d Cir. 2005). 3 We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo both a district court’s dismissal for failure to state a claim and the grant of summary judgment. See Barefoot Architect, Inc. v. Bunge, 632 F.3d 822, 826 (3d Cir. 2011). We may affirm on any grounds supported by the record. See Hughes v. Long, 242 F.3d 121, 122 n.1 (3d Cir. 2001). 4 suit. Christopher v. Harbury, 536 U.S. 403, 415 (2005); see also Monroe v. Beard, 536 F.3d 198, 205 (3d Cir. 2008). We first examine Coulston’s claims that prison officials interfered with his filing a PCRA petition challenging his murder conviction as well as a federal habeas petition challenging his aggravated robbery conviction. For his lost opportunity to file those challenges, Coulston seeks money damages. However, under Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 486-87 (1994), he cannot do so at this time. Heck holds that a damages remedy that necessarily implies the invalidity of a criminal conviction is impermissible while that conviction stands. Id. Coulston cannot demonstrate that the loss of his PCRA claim injured him unless he also demonstrates that his PCRA petition had merit, which necessarily would imply the invalidity of his murder conviction. See Burd v. Sessler, 702 F.3d 429, 434-35 (7th Cir. 2012) (holding that Heck barred the plaintiff’s § 1983 accessto-courts claim seeking money damages for prison officials’ interference with his ability to challenge his state court conviction); see also Hoard v. Reddy, 175 F.3d 531, 534 (7th Cir. 1999) (“where the prisoner is complaining about being hindered in his efforts to get his conviction set aside, the hindrance is of no consequence if the conviction was valid, and so he cannot get damages until the conviction is invalidated”); Nance v. Vieregge, 147 F.3d 589, 591-92 (7th Cir. 1998) (same as to motion to withdraw guilty plea). The same is true for any actual injury arising from the lost opportunity to file his proposed federal habeas petition challenging the aggravated robbery conviction. Thus, as we have previously recognized, any § 1983 claims cannot accrue until Coulston successfully invalidates the underlying convictions. See Gibson v. Superintendent of N.J. Dep’t of 5 Law & Pub. Safety, 411 F.3d 427, 442 (3d Cir. 2005) (“When a denial of access claim involves a state’s suppression of evidence that is material to a criminal trial, the claim does not accrue until the conviction is invalidated.”), overruled on other grounds by Dique v. N.J. State Police, 603 F.3d 181 (3d Cir. 2010). Moreover, the District Court correctly dismissed Coulston’s access-to-courts claim predicated on the proposed § 1983 suit against the assistant district attorney who withheld the exculpatory evidence. That predicate claim lacks arguable merit as it too is barred by Heck. See Amaker v. Weiner, 179 F.3d 48, 51 (2d Cir. 1999) (holding that Heck bars a § 1983 suit claiming that constitutional rights have “been denied by the withholding of exculpatory evidence”). In sum, we hold that under the facts of this case, Coulston could not maintain an action for the violation of his constitutional right to access the courts.4 4 We stress that the claims denied on Heck grounds are without prejudice. See Fottler v. United States, 73 F.3d 1064, 1065-66 (10th Cir. 1996) (noting that Heck dismissals are without prejudice). We further note that applying the Heck Rule in this context may have unintended implications. Barring § 1983 actions for money damages on access-to-courts claims, particularly when the alleged denial of access to the courts concerns a petition for state collateral review, risks creating a trap for unwary pro se litigants. When prisons deny prisoners their constitutional right to court access for state collateral review petitions, they prevent prisoners from challenging the legality of their convictions. If the prisoner attempts to assert his rights through a § 1983 claim but makes the mistake of pleading his claim as one for money damages, applying the Heck rule may insulate the underlying conviction from review despite the prison’s potentially unconstitutional conduct. Prisoners may avoid this outcome by using other avenues to challenge the denial of access to the courts and to revive challenges to their convictions. In order to ensure access to the courts, prisoners may file a claim for injunctive relief against the prison pursuant to § 1983. Hoard v. Reddy, 175 F.3d 531, 533 (7th Cir. 1999). They may also ask state and federal courts to extend the time for filing habeas corpus petitions as a result of the denial of access to the courts. In Pennsylvania, the time limit for filing a PCRA petition may be extended when “the failure to raise the claim previously was the 6