Opinion ID: 744627
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Preliminary Inquiries

Text: 16 We must initially determine whether the principles of Heck allow us to address Clarke's claim for prospective relief. In Edwards, the Court stated that [o]rdinarily, a prayer for prospective relief will not 'necessarily imply' the invalidity of a previous loss of good time credits and so may properly be brought under § 1983. 520 U.S. at ----, 117 S.Ct. at 1589. That is the case here. As we discuss above, it is unclear upon which portion of the defiance rule Clarke's conviction is based. That being so, a ruling in Clarke's favor on his First Amendment claim for prospective relief will not necessarily imply the invalidity of his prison conviction. 17 The Court in Edwards stated that, while Heck might not bar a suit for prospective injunctive relief, we should ensure the litigant has standing to pursue the claim and that the requirements for federal injunctive relief, as discussed in O'Shea v. Littleton, 414 U.S. 488, 94 S.Ct. 669, 38 L.Ed.2d 674 (1974), are met. We first look to the question of standing. The question of a litigant's standing to bring suit is jurisdictional as it implicates judicial power under Article III. Accordingly, we must examine it sua sponte if necessary. E.g., Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, ---- n. 1, 116 S.Ct. 2174, 2178 n. 1, 135 L.Ed.2d 606 (1996). The Constitution requires that a litigant have suffered or will imminently suffer an injury, that this injury is fairly traceable to the defendant's conduct, and that a favorable decision will redress her injury. Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737, 751, 104 S.Ct. 3315, 3324-25, 82 L.Ed.2d 556 (1984). The Supreme Court's decision in City of Houston v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451, 459 n. 7, 107 S.Ct. 2502, 2508 n. 7, 96 L.Ed.2d 398 (1987), among others, demonstrates that Clarke has sufficient fear of being punished by the challenged portion of the rule in the future to satisfy the injury requirement. In addition to the prison conviction which is discussed above, Clarke received several defiance convictions after his transfer to WCI, many of them pertaining to his challenges to the lawfulness of the actions of prison officials. Having thus exhibited a continuum of behavior, Henschen v. City of Houston, 959 F.2d 584, 589 (5th Cir.1992), Clarke has suffered the requisite injury. The second and third elements are obviously met here as Clarke's injury is posed by the enforcement of portions of Rule 3, a rule which, if enjoined, will no longer pose a threat to Clarke. Clarke has standing to pursue prospective relief. Further, none of the concerns expressed by the Court in O'Shea counsel against injunctive relief here.