Court Opinion

ID: 9478539
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 06:51:44.605365+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:46:29.248436
License: Public Domain

SPOTTSWOOD W. ROBINSON, III, Circuit Judge,
with whom MIKVA, Circuit Judge joins, concurring in the judgment:
I am unable to join the court in its holding that solely in a habeas corpus proceeding may Chatman-Bey contest the 1999 parole eligibility date set by the Commission. In my view, Chatman-Bey does not challenge either the fact or duration of his confinement, nor does he seek immediate or sooner release. I think, then that habe-as is not exclusive in his situation, and that he is free to pursue any non-habeas remedy otherwise proper.1
*815I
The court’s thesis that an application for a writ of habeas corpus is the only suitable means of litigating controversies over eligibility for parole consideration, I submit, is the product of a series of misconceptions. The first, occurring at the very outset of the court’s analysis, plots a decisional course in the wrong direction. The court declares that “[b]ecause ... habeas is an available and potentially efficacious remedy, it is clear beyond reasonable dispute that mandamus will not appropriately lie.”2 Then, with the additional observation that mandamus is reserved for extraordinary situations, the court states that “mandamus would potentially lie in the present case only if the complaint fell outside the reach of habeas (or if habeas was ineffica-cious).” 3 The court concludes that “[s]ince ... Chatman-Bey’s complaint falls comfortably within the broad confines of habe-as corpus, mandamus would be inappropriate in this case even if habeas were simply an available, rather than exclusive, remedy.”4
With all due respect, none of that is at all clear to me. I readily agree that mandamus is an extraordinary remedy, to be invoked only in exceptional circumstances.5 I agree, too, that a writ of mandamus will ordinarily be denied when another avenue to the relief desired is open.6 But that does not necessarily mean that mandamus, or some other nonhabeas form of action, is out of Chatman-Bey’s reach.
Habeas is itself an extraordinary remedy.7 To indulge unlimited range to either habeas or mandamus is to obliterate the functional difference between the two.8 Moreover, while habeas is the traditional and indeed the sole procedural mechanism for terminating or shortening a period of unlawful restraint,9 its exclusivity in other missions has yet to be precisely defined.10 So, assuming that habeas is a remedy that Chatman-Bey might pursue, it does not follow inexorably that he is compelled to do so. Put another way, when a prisoner’s claim does not implicate either the fact or the duration of his detention, his mere ability to resort to habeas does not invariably require him to do so.11 As a conspicuous example, the Supreme Court has held that a state prisoner may proceed in habeas to challenge the conditions of his confine*816ment,12 but also that he may bring a nonha-beas action for the very same purpose.13 Indeed, suits for mandamus,14 injunctive and declaratory relief15 have all received judicial approval as means of addressing issues which today’s decision renders appropriate only in habeas. It certainly seems to me, then, “that some instances remain where habeas corpus provides a supplementary but not an exclusive remedy.” 16
That being so, the critical question here is not the availability but rather the exclusivity of habeas to test the validity of an administratively-calculated parole eligibility date. If habeas is not exclusive, some other remedy likely can do service for Chat-man-Bey. That he placed a mandamus label on the remedy he invoked alternatively would appear to be immaterial, for there seemingly is no reason why Chatman-Bey’s complaint should not be treated as a call for whatever relief may be in order.17
II
Present-day caselaw on exclusivity of ha-beas corpus had its genesis fifteen years ago in the Supreme Court’s decision in Preiser v. Rodriguez.18 The State of New York maintained a conditional-release program by which a participating prisoner serving an indeterminate sentence could earn up to ten days of good-behavior credits per month. These credits would self-operate to reduce the maximum term of the prisoner’s sentence, but could be withdrawn for bad behavior or infraction of institutional rules. Three inmates, each alleging an unconstitutional cancellation of credits accumulated in the program, brought independent Section 1983 actions19 *817coupled with petitions for writs of habeas corpus, by which they sought restoration of their respective credits. Observing that “the essence of habeas corpus is an attack by a person in custody upon the legality of that custody, and that the traditional function of the writ is to secure release from illegal custody,”20 the Court concluded that the inmates’ suits “fell squarely within this traditional scope of habeas corpus”21 since
[t]hey alleged that the deprivation of their good-conduct-time credits was causing or would cause them to be in illegal physical confinement, i.e., that once their conditional-release date had passed, any further detention of them in prison was unlawful; and they sought restoration of those good-time credits, which, by the time the District Court ruled on their petitions, meant their immediate release from physical custody.22
The Court further concluded that “even if restoration of [the inmates’] good-time credits had merely shortened the length of their confinement, rather than required immediate discharge from that confinement, their suits would still have been within the core of habeas corpus in attacking the very duration of their physical confinement itself.23 Hence the ruling in Preiser, as put by the Court:
[W]hen a state prisoner is challenging the very fact or duration of his physical imprisonment, and the relief he seeks is a determination that he is entitled to immediate release or a speedier release from that imprisonment, his sole federal remedy is a writ of habeas corpus.24
Preiser did not, however, furnish a test enabling determination of just when a prisoner’s lawsuit targets the “fact or duration” of his confinement, or seeks “immediate or sooner release” therefrom. The Court did, however, provide some guidance in that direction. “If a state prisoner is seeking damages,” the Court said, “he is attacking something other than the fact or length of his confinement, and he is seeking something other than immediate or some speedy release — the traditional purpose of habeas corpus.”25 Accordingly, “[i]n the case of a damages claim, habeas corpus is not an appropriate or available federal remedy.”26 Nor need a prisoner aggrieved by some condition of prison life resort to habeas for redress. Referring to earlier Section 1983 actions entertained for that purpose,27 the Court explained that “none of the state prisoners in those cases was challenging the fact or duration of his physical confinement itself, and none was seeking immediate release or a speedier release from that confinement — the heart of habeas corpus;”28 rather, “in all those cases, the prisoners’ claims related solely to the States’ alleged unconstitutional treatment of them while in confinement.”29 Upon the understanding “that a § 1983 action is a proper remedy for a state prisoner who is making a constitutional challenge to the conditions of his prison life, but not to the fact or length of his custody,” those holdings were reaffirmed.30
The light left so dim by Preiser brightened considerably, however, as three more cases came before the Court.31 During the succeeding term, in Wolff v. McDonnell,32 *818a prisoner advanced in a Section 1983 class action a claim that disciplinary proceedings at a Nebraska prison, which had led to cancellation of some of his good-time credits,33 did not meet due process standards. As relief, the action requested restoration of the credits, new hearing procedures on proposals to withhold or forfeit such credits, and damages for denials of civil rights resulting from use of existing disciplinary procedures.34 Addressing “[a]t the threshold ... the issue whether under Preiser ... the validity of the procedures for depriving prisoners of good-time credits may be considered in” Section 1983 litigation,35 the Court noted that Preiser had foreclosed any restoration of such credits save in ha-beas,36 but had expressly countenanced claims for damages in Section 1983 suits.37 Accordingly, the Court said, that claim was appropriately presented,38 “and required determination of the validity of the procedures employed for imposing sanctions, including loss of good time, for flagrant or serious misconduct.”39 Furthermore, the Court stated,
[s]uch a declaratory judgment as a predicate to a damages award would not be barred by Preiser; and because under that case only an injunction restoring good time improperly taken is foreclosed, neither would it preclude a litigant with standing from obtaining by way of ancillary relief an otherwise proper injunction enjoining the prospective enforcement of invalid prison regulations.40
Therefore, the Court concluded, “it was proper ... to determine the validity of the procedures for revoking good-time credits and to fashion appropriate remedies for any constitutional violations ascertained, short of ordering the actual restoration of good time already canceled.”41 It is apparent that the outcome in Wolff would have been different had Preiser been interpreted as the majority of my colleagues do.
Two additional decisions of the Court make it even plainer that Preiser interposes no barrier to nonhabeas litigation of an asserted right to legally valid release procedures where the decision will not itself alter “the fact or duration of confinement” or effect an “immediate or sooner release” from custody. Within nine months after the ruling in Wolff, the Court, in Gerstein v. Pugh,42 was faced with a Section 1983 class action by arrestees, who were in custody under Florida prosecutors’ criminal informations, claiming a constitutional right to pretrial judicial hearings on probable cause to detain, and requesting declaratory and injunctive relief. Holding the form of action proper, the Court pointed out that the complainants,
did not ask for release from state custody, even as an alternative remedy. They asked that the state authorities be ordered to give them a probable cause determination. This was also the only relief that the District Court ordered for [them].43
The Court held unanimously44 that “[b]ecause release was neither asked nor ordered, the lawsuit did not come within the class of cases for which habeas corpus *819is the exclusive remedy.”45 And just four years later, in Greenholtz v. Inmates of Nebraska Penal & Correctional Complex,46 the Court resolved on the merits another Section 1983 class action alleging that procedures utilized by Nebraska’s Board of Parole denied due process, but none of the three opinions in the case questioned the propriety of the suit. In each of these two cases, victory for the complainants would have brought them a step closer to immediate or sooner release through habeas proceedings, and Preiser was no obstacle because that eventual result was not assured.
Ill
Until today, this circuit’s precedents47 paralleled the developments in the Supreme Court from Preiser onward. In Guerra v. Meese,48 we reversed an order of the District Court admitting seven federal prisoners confined outside the District of Columbia to bail pending a decision on the merits of their challenge to the validity of a parole eligibility date fixed by the Commission. Since the court could not have ordered release of the prisoners even if they ultimately prevailed, but could only have directed “the [Commission] to correct the abuses or wrongful conduct within a fixed period time,”49 bail as interim relief was unavailable.50 On the other hand, without mention of Preiser, in Pickus v. United States Board of Parole51 we deemed appropriate a suit for an injunction directing compliance with parole rulemaking procedures required by statute,52 and in Lykins v. United States Department of Justice53 we implicitly approved a prisoner’s action seeking disclosure of documents in his parole file.54
In two other decisions, our rationale was set forth more vividly. In Goode v. Markley,55 a federal prisoner incarcerated in West Virginia petitioned alternatively for writs of habeas corpus and mandamus compelling the warden of that facility to afford a parole hearing on the earlier of two consecutive sentences. We noted that “[t]he mandamus provision56 ... permits courts to compel an administrative officer to perform a duty owed the plaintiff,”57 and “that if Goode demonstrated that Warden Markley was bound by statute to provide her with a hearing on parole from her [earlier] sentence the district court would have jurisdiction to proceed, and upon a showing that the Warden indeed failed to provide the required hearing would be authorized to issue a writ compelling adherence to the statute.”58 And while in Monk v. Secretary of Navy,59 we held that a Marine corporal found guilty in a general court-martial of murder, and imprisoned in Kansas could attack his conviction only in a habeas action,60 we registered our under*820standing of the critical difference between Preiser and Wolff:
This disposition [in Wolff\ is entirely consistent with Preiser. Relief other than restoration of credits would not result in the prisoner’s immediate or speedier release from prison or in any way undermine the validity of the underlying conviction. Thus, under Preiser, the ha-beas provisions were not implicated.61
Outside this circuit are numerous holdings that a prisoner is not restricted to habeas when he does not challenge directly the fact or duration of his confinement, and success would not produce automatically immediate or earlier release, however much it might brighten the prospect thereof. Few would quarrel with rulings that an effort by a convicted inmate to obtain promptly a trial transcript essential to preparation of his appeal from the conviction need not proceed in habeas.62 Just as likely, concerns would not be heightened by Section 1983 requests for additional elucidation, but not an overturning, of parole decisions.63 Nor, perhaps, would many be alarmed by an Army reservist’s suit to annul an order to report for active duty when it is realized that he “does not seek ... to be discharged from membership in the armed forces,” but “challenges only the order requiring him to report for active duty.”64 And certainly Gerstein’s approval of a nonhabeas action to obtain a judicial hearing to determine probable cause to hold an adult in custody65 fortifies the right of a detained juvenile to utilize the same technique.66 More importantly, it is evident that the reasoning animating the post-Preiser decisions of the Supreme Court67 and this circuit68 stoutly underpins the propriety of invoking nonhabeas remedies to redress allegedly invalid parole procedures, as many cases have held.69
*821IV
Preiser held that habeas corpus is the exclusive federal remedy available to a prisoner who attacks the fact or duration of his confinement and who would become entitled to immediate or sooner release should he prevail. The Preiser inmates were clearly barred by that principle, for the object of their suit was a restoration of good-time credits which would have reduced the maximum term of their respective sentences. Chatman-Bey, on the other hand, desires no more than a properly calculated parole eligibility date — a date upon which he first will be considered for parole. An earlier date than he now has would not necessarily mean an earlier release from prison, for that would depend upon the parole decision to be made. The question we must answer is whether Preiser is limited to situations in which success in the particular lawsuit would directly and automatically bring about immediate or sooner release from custody or, instead, extends as well to those in which the outcome would produce something less.
Much in Preiser itself indicates the former. The majority opinion therein referred repeatedly to cases challenging “the very fact or duration of [a prisoner’s] physical imprisonment” and seeking “a determination that he is entitled to immediate release or a speedier release from that imprisonment.” 70 These cases, the Court declared, are of the “essence” and at the “core” or “heart” of habeas,71 ”go[ing] directly to the [validity] of his physical confinement itself”72 and asking for “a determination that he is entitled to immediate release or a speedier release” therefrom.73 There is not the slightest hint in Preiser that cases lacking those features are intercepted.74 More*822over, the Preiser Court put aside claims for damages with the explanation that the claimant “is attacking something other than the fact or length of his confinement, and he is seeking something other than immediate or more speedy release;”75 it distinguished, too, complaints about prison conditions on the ground that they “relate[ ] solely to ... alleged ... treatment ... while in confinement”76 and do not “challenge the very fact or duration of the confinement itself.”77 The crowning factor is that but for a restrained reading, the declaration and injunction discussed in Wolff,78the request for the probable cause hearing in Gerstein,79and the assault on parole procedures in Greenholtz80 would all have collided with Preiser unless litigated in the context of habeas corpus.
My colleagues in the majority ignore these important considerations and the imposing array of decisions heeding them,81 and solicit support from other quarters. They refer to the expansion of habeas corpus in modern times82 and to its character as a specific remedy,83 and urge that “Preiser cannot ... be limited to the specific facts of that case....”84 To be sure, the scope of federal habeas corpus has widened remarkably since the days of the common law, and much of its nature is spelled out statutorily. Nonetheless, until today, the remedial exclusivity of habeas had yet to be extended to cases lacking the potential to affect a period of assertively unlawful custody. Nor can I agree that Preiser is to be read broadly when the Preiser Court itself admonished that the complaining prisoners “sought ... only equitable relief — restoration of their good-time credits — and our holding today is limited to that situation.”85 The majority’s stance fails to distinguish parole eligibility from parole entitlement, and treats any step toward lawful parole procedures as a headlong assault upon confinement.
Chatman-Bey contends for no more than a parole eligibility date determined in accordance with governing statutes. He does not ask for immediate or earlier release from custody, nor can his suit, without more, produce that result. The very most it could garner is a new date upon which he will be considered for parole, with no guarantee that it would actually be granted. This “possibility of parole provides no more than a mere hope that the benefit will be obtained,”86 and is a far cry from the inevitability of release that Preiser contemplates.

. I have heretofore explained my position on the propriety of nonhabeas proceedings for resolution of a somewhat different sort of parole eligibility dispute. In re United States Parole Comm’n, 253 U.S.App.D.C. 267, 793 F.2d 338 (1986). The opinion therein, however, was spontaneously vacated when the court voted to rehear the case en banc, In re United States Parole Comm’n, 255 U.S.App.D.C. 101, 798 F.2d 1532 (1986) (en banc), and the case became moot before a ruling en banc was announced. In re United States Parole Comm’n, No. 85-1205 (D.C.Cir. Dec. 30, 1987) (en banc) (order).

. Majority Opinion (Maj.Op.) at 806.

. Id. at 806 n. 2.

. Id.

. Allied Chem. Corp. v. Daiflon, Inc., 449 U.S. 33, 34, 101 S.Ct. 188, 190, 66 L.Ed.2d 193, 196 (1980); Will v. United States, 389 U.S. 90, 95, 88 S.Ct. 269, 273, 19 L.Ed.2d 305, 310 (1967); In re Scott, 228 U.S.App.D.C. 278, 280, 282, 709 F.2d 717, 719, 721 (1983) (per curiam); Starnes v. McGuire, 168 U.S.App.D.C. 4, 15, 512 F.2d 918, 929 (1974) (en banc).

. Kerr v. United States Dist. Court, 426 U.S. 394, 403, 96 S.Ct. 2119, 2124, 48 L.Ed.2d 725, 733 (1976); Barnhart v. Devine, 248 U.S.App.D.C. 375, 384, 771 F.2d 1515, 1524 (1985); In re GTE Serv. Corp., 246 U.S.App.D.C. 45, 47-48, 762 F.2d 1024, 1026-1027 (1985); In re Halkin, 194 U.S.App.D.C. 257, 279, 598 F.2d 176, 198 (1979).

. E.g., Lehman v. Lycoming County Children’s Servs. Agency, 458 U.S. 502, 516 n. 19, 102 S.Ct. 3231, 3240 n. 19, 73 L.Ed.2d 928, 940 n. 19 (1982) (quoting Hensley v. Municipal Court, 411 U.S. 345, 351, 93 S.Ct. 1571, 1575, 36 L.Ed.2d 294, 300 (1973)).

. "[T]he essence of habeas corpus is an attack by a person in custody upon the legality of that custody_” Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 484, 93 S.Ct. 1827, 1833, 36 L.Ed.2d 439, 447 (1973). The office of statutory mandamus is "to compel an officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof to perform a duty owed to the plaintiff.” 28 U.S.C. § 1361 (1982).

. E.g., Preiser v. Rodriguez, supra note 8, 411 U.S. at 484-488, 500, 93 S.Ct. at 1833-1836, 1841, 36 L.Ed.2d at 447-450, 456.

. See, e.g., id. at 500, 93 S.Ct. at 1841, 36 L.Ed.2d at 456; United States ex rel. Schonbrun v. Commanding Officer, 403 F.2d 371, 373-374 (2d Cir.1968), cert. denied, 394 U.S. 929, 89 S.Ct. 1195, 22 L.Ed.2d 460 (1969); Qualls v. Shaw, 535 F.2d 318, 319 (5th Cir.1976); Holmes v. United States Bd. of Parole, 541 F.2d 1243, 1248 (7th Cir.1976).

. The majority opinion quibbles with my use of the word "implicate.” Maj.Op. at 808 n. 4. In so doing, I refer to what is "require[d] or entail[ed] as a natural or necessary ... concomitant ] or consequence....” Webster’s Third International Dictionary 1135 (1981).

. Johnson v. Avery, 393 U.S. 483, 485-487, 89 S.Ct. 747, 749-750, 21 L.Ed.2d 718, 721-722 (1969); Ex parte Hull, 312 U.S. 546, 547-549, 61 S.Ct. 640, 640-642, 85 L.Ed. 1034, 1034-1036 (1941).

. Cooper v. Pate, 378 U.S. 546, 84 S.Ct. 1733, 12 L.Ed.2d 1030 (1964) (per curiam) (denial of permission to purchase certain religious publications, and withholding of other privileges enjoyed by fellow prisoners, solely because of inmate’s religious beliefs); Houghton v. Shafer, 392 U.S. 639, 640-641, 88 S.Ct. 2119, 2120, 20 L.Ed.2d 1319, 1320-1321 (1968) (per curiam) (confiscation of legal materials acquired by inmate in order to pursue an appeal, but, in violation of prison rules, where in possession of another inmate); Wilwording v. Swenson, 404 U.S. 249, 250-252, 92 S.Ct. 407, 409, 30 L.Ed.2d 418, 421 (1971) (per curiam) (living conditions and disciplinary measures while in maximum security); Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520-521, 92 S.Ct. 594, 595-596, 30 L.Ed.2d 652, 653-654 (1972) (per curiam) (solitary confinement and infliction of physical injuries while so confined). See Preiser v. Rodriguez, supra note 8, 411 U.S. at 498-499, 93 S.Ct. at 1840-1841, 36 L.Ed.2d at 455-456. These rulings have been rationalized on the ground that a prisoner’s " ‘conviction and incarceration deprive him only of liberties as the law has ordained he shall suffer for his transgressions.'” Id. at 505, 93 S.Ct. at 1844, 36 L.Ed.2d at 459 (dissenting opinion) (quoting Coffin v. Reichard, 143 F.2d 443, 445 (6th Cir.1944)). See also Note, Developments in the Law—Federal Habeas Corpus, 83 Harv.L.Rev. 1038, 1079-1087 (1970).

. Goode v. Markley, 195 U.S.App.D.C. 391, 393-394 n. 4, 603 F.2d 973, 975-976 n. 4 (1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1083, 100 S.Ct. 1039, 62 L.Ed.2d 768 (1980) (provision of parole hearing); United States ex rel. Schonbrun v. Commanding Officer, supra note 10, 403 F.2d at 373-374 (challenge by reservist to order to report for active duty); Holmes v. United States Bd. of Parole, supra note 10, 541 F.2d at 1248; Watts v. Hadden, 489 F.Supp. 987, 989-990 (D.Colo.1980), aff’d, 651 F.2d 1354 (10th Cir.1981) (failure by Parole Commission to adhere to statutory requirements, including time for consideration of unconditional release).

. Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 106-107, 95 S.Ct. 854, 859, 43 L.Ed.2d 54, 61 (1975) (suit by arrestees to obtain pretrial judicial probable cause hearings). See Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 554-555, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 2974, 41 L.Ed.2d 935, 950 (1974).

. Preiser v. Rodriguez, supra note 8, 411 U.S. at 506, 93 S.Ct. at 1845, 36 L.Ed.2d at 460 (dissenting opinion).

. See Wilwording v. Swenson, supra note 13, 404 U.S. at 251, 92 S.Ct. at 409, 30 L.Ed.2d at 421 (habeas corpus petitions treated as § 1983 actions); Long v. Parker, 390 F.2d 816, 818-819 (3d Cir.1968) (§ 1983 action and habeas corpus petition treated as mandamus petition); United States ex rel. Schonbrun v. Commanding Officer, supra note 10, 403 F.2d at 374 (habeas corpus petition treatable as mandamus petition). As the court holds, venue is not a problem at this stage. Maj.Op. at 813 & n. 8.

. Supra note 8.

. Actions pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1982).

. 411 U.S. at 484, 93 S.Ct. at 1833, 36 L.Ed.2d at 447.

. Id. at 487, 93 S.Ct. at 1835, 36 L.Ed.2d at 448.

. Id.

. Id. at 487-488, 93 S.Ct. at 1835, 36 L.Ed.2d at 449.

. Id. at 500, 93 S.Ct. at 1841, 36 L.Ed.2d at 456.

. Id. at 494, 93 S.Ct. at 1838, 36 L.Ed.2d at 453.

. Id. (emphasis in original).

. See the cases cited supra note 13.

. Preiser v. Rodriguez, supra note 8, 411 U.S. at 498, 93 S.Ct. at 1840, 36 L.Ed.2d at 455.

. Id. at 498-499, 93 S.Ct. at 1841, 36 L.Ed.2d at 455.

. Id. at 499, 93 S.Ct. at 1841, 36 L.Ed.2d at 455.

. In referring to holdings opposing the arguments advanced in today’s majority opinion, I do not mean to imply that complaining parties, having cleared the Preiser hurdle, were uniformly successful on the merits. The fact is that ofttimes they were not.

. Supra note 15.

. By statute in Nebraska, flagrant or serious misconduct could result in forfeiture of good-time credits, which would affect the maximum term of imprisonment, or in confinement in a disciplinary cell which, of course, would alter the conditions of incarceration. Misconduct less than flagrant or serious would result only in deprivation of privileges. 418 U.S. at 547, 94 S.Ct. at 2970, 41 L.Ed.2d at 946 (footnote omitted).

. Id. at 553, 94 S.Ct. at 2973, 41 L.Ed.2d at 949.

. Id. at 554, 94 S.Ct. at 2973, 41 L.Ed.2d at 949.

. Id. at 554, 94 S.Ct. at 2974, 41 L.Ed.2d at 950.

. Id.

. Id.

. Id. at 554-555, 94 S.Ct. at 2974, 41 L.Ed.2d at 950.

. Id. at 555, 94 S.Ct. at 2974, 41 L.Ed.2d at 950.

. Id (footnote omitted).

. Supra note 15.

. 420 U.S. at 107 n. 6, 95 S.Ct. at 859 n. 6, 43 L.Ed.2d at 61 n. 6.

. This holding appears in Part I of the opinion for the Court, in which all Justices joined.

. 420 U.S. at 107 n. 6, 95 S.Ct. at 859 n. 6, 43 L.Ed.2d at 61 n. 6 (citations to Preiser and Wolff omitted).

. 442 U.S. 1, 99 S.Ct. 2100, 60 L.Ed.2d 668 (1979).

. I exclude from this category In re United States Parole Comm’n, supra note 1; In re Chatman-Bey (Chatman-Bey I), 231 U.S.App.D.C. 72, 718 F.2d 484 (1983); and Chatman-Bey v. Meese (Chatman-Bey II), 254 U.S.App.D.C. 320, 797 F.2d 987 (1986), to the extent vacated, see 261 U.S.App.D.C. 301, 821 F.2d 789 (1987) (en banc).

. 252 U.S.App.D.C. 1, 786 F.2d 414 (1986).

. Id. at 5, 786 F.2d at 418 (quoting Billiteri v. Board of Parole, 541 F.2d 938, 944 (2d Cir.1976)).

. Guerra v. Meese, supra note 48, 252 U.S.App. D.C. at 4-5, 786 F.2d at 417-418.

. 165 U.S.App.D.C. 284, 507 F.2d 1107 (1974).

. Id. at 291, 507 F.2d at 1114. See also Pickus v. United States Bd. of Parole, 177 U.S.App.D.C. 93, 94, 543 F.2d 240, 241 (1976).

. 233 U.S.App.D.C. 349, 725 F.2d 1455 (1984).

. Id. at 351, 725 F.2d at 1457.

. Supra note 14.

. 28 U.S.C. § 1361 (1982).

. 195 U.S.App.D.C. at 393 n. 4, 603 F.2d at 675 n. 4.

. Id. at 393-394 n. 4, 603 F.2d at 675-676 n. 4.

. 253 U.S.App.D.C. 293, 793 F.2d 364 (1986).

. Id. at 295-296, 793 F.2d at 366-368.

. Id. at 296, 793 F.2d at 367.

. Qualls v. Shaw, supra note 10, 535 F.2d at 319 ("the appellant is not challenging his conviction and he is not seeking his release from custody. He is claiming that he has been denied access to records which are made available to others and has been subjected to discriminatory treatment. Were he to prevail in this action the court’s opinion would not impinge in any manner on the validity of his criminal conviction, and therefore habeas corpus is not an appropriate remedy and the district court's reliance on Preiser is misplaced”); Rheuark v. Shaw, 547 F.2d 1257, 1258-1259 (5th Cir.1977) (to same effect); Lumbert v. Finley, 735 F.2d 239, 242 (7th Cir.1984) (“Lumbert has neither directly challenged the fact of his confinement nor sought a determination that he is entitled to immediate or speedier release. To argue that the provision of the transcript might have resulted in a successful appeal of Lumbert’s murder conviction, a new trial, and possible acquittal, and thereby would have indirectly affected the fact of his confinement, is to speculate in a Palsgrafian fashion that provides too tenuous a basis for the determination whether an action properly is characterized as an exclusive habeas corpus action”) (footnote omitted).

. See Haymes v. Regan, 525 F.2d 540, 542 (2d Cir.1975) (statement of reasons for decision, essential facts upon which it was based, and criteria observed in reaching it); Huggins v. Isenbarger, 798 F.2d 203, 204 (7th Cir.1986) (per curiam) (claim that reason assigned was too general to comply with due process).

. United States ex rel. Schonbrun v. Commanding Officer, supra note 10, 403 F.2d at 373-374 (”[w]hether or not habeas corpus is available, the district court was free to treat the petition as one for mandamus under 28 U.S.C. § 1361").

. See text supra at notes 42-45.

. Fernandez v. Trias Monge, 586 F.2d 848, 852 n. 4 (1st Cir.1978) (habeas corpus not exclusive remedy when "plaintiff [does] not seek release from detention but simply an order mandating a probable cause hearing,” and “[a]lthough that hearing might ultimately result in plaintiffs release, if probable cause is found wanting, that result is clearly not inevitable”) (citations omitted).

. See text supra at notes 31-46.

. See text supra at notes 47-61.

. Williams v. Ward, 556 F.2d 1143, 1150 (2d Cir.1977) (addressing state parole board’s failure to provide prisoner with copies of allegedly derogatory letters supposedly contained in his parole file; rejecting argument "that because Williams’ object in this action was ultimately to gain release from prison through a new parole hearing unaffected by disputed material in his institutional files, his action should have been treated as one for habeas corpus under Preiser ...”; and holding that "[although the relief sought by petitioner may improve his chances for parole, the question of his release and of the length of his confinement still lies within the sound discretion of the board ...’’); Georgevich v. Strauss, 772 F.2d 1078, 1087 (3d Cir.1985) (en *821banc), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1028, 106 S.Ct. 1229, 89 L.Ed.2d 339 (1986) (§ 1983 suit available to challenge state parole procedures on equal protection grounds because "the fact that a prisoner’s success in the litigation might increase the chance for early release does not, in itself, transform the action into one for habeas corpus”); Strader v. Troy, 571 F.2d 1263, 1269 (4th Cir.1978) (treating state prisoner’s pro se habeas pleading as a suit under § 1983, "Strader does not assert that he is entitled to parole and should be released; he argues only that the parole board should consider his eligibility for parole without regard to his four allegedly invalid Virginia convictions. He also does not assert that if the four convictions are not considered he will be entitled to parole, now or ever”); Johnson v. Pfeiffer, 821 F.2d 1120, 1123 (5th Cir.1987) (§ 1983 available for state inmate’s attack on parole practices as invalid because ”[v]ictory ... would not entitle any member of [inmate’s] proposed classes to automatic release,” but, ”[a]t most, the consequences of his suit would be a requirement that the Parole Board refrain from using unconstitutional customs, rules, and procedures when making parole decisions”); Shaw v. Brisco, 526 F.2d 675, 676 (5th Cir.1976) (per curiam) (state inmates could test constitutionality of state board's parole procedures in § 1983 action; district court’s ruling that such relief would have the effect of releasing prisoners rejected); Walker v. Prisoner Review Bd., 694 F.2d 499, 501 (7th Cir.1982) (§ 1983 action appropriate for attack on parole practices, although "the relief sought might have improved petitioner’s chances of parole,” for "the question of release still would remain within the discretion of the parole board”) (citations omitted); Holmes v. United States Bd. of Parole, supra note 10, 541 F.2d at 1248 (assuming availability of habeas, federal prisoner could resort to mandamus to assert due process violation by classification as special offender, which affected chances for parole, without opportunity to learn of and contest evidence against him); Candelaria v. Griffin 641 F.2d 868, 869 (10th Cir.1981) (per curiam) (”[w]e construe plaintiff’s petition as a challenge to the fairness of parole procedures and not a demand for immediate release pursuant to parole”); Watts v. Hadden, supra note 14, 489 F.Supp. at 989-990 (mandamus appropriate to remediate failures by Parole Commission to adhere to requirements of Federal Youth Corrections Act, including point in time for consideration of unconditional release).

. Preiser v. Rodriguez, supra note 8, 411 U.S. at 500, 93 S.Ct. at 1841, 36 L.Ed.2d at 456.

. Id. at 484, 487, 489, 498, 93 S.Ct. at 1833, 1835, 1836, 1840, 36 L.Ed.2d at 447, 449, 450, 455.

. Id. at 489, 93 S.Ct. at 1836, 36 L.Ed.2d at 450.

. Id. at 500, 93 S.Ct. at 1841, 36 L.Ed.2d at 456.

. As examples of prisoner cases that must be brought in habeas, the Court listed those asserting "that the statute under which he stands convicted is unconstitutional^] ... that he has been imprisoned prior to trial on account of a defective indictment against him[;] ... that he is unlawfully confined in the wrong institution^] ... that he was denied his constitutional rights at trial[;] ... that his guilty plea was invalid[;] ... that he is being unlawfully detained by the *822Executive or military[;] ... [and] that his parole was unlawfully revoked...." Id. at 486, 93 S.Ct. at 1834, 36 L.Ed.2d at 448 (citations omitted). As the Court observed “in each case his grievance is that he is being unlawfully subjected to physical restraint, and in each case habeas corpus has been accepted as the specific instrument to obtain release from such confinement. Id.

. Id. at 494, 93 S.Ct. at 1838, 36 L.Ed.2d at 453.

. Id. at 499, 93 S.Ct. at 1841, 36 L.Ed.2d at 455.

. Id.

. See text supra at notes 32-41.

. See text supra at notes 42-45.

. See text supra following note 46.

. See Parts II, III supra. The majority opinion dismisses Wolff, Gerstein and Greenholtz with the observation that each involved the so-called “Preiser dilemma.” Maj.Op. at 810 n. 5. In determining in these cases the propriety of remedies, the Supreme Court indulged the "Preiser dilemma” no role whatsoever.

. Maj.Op. at 806-807.

. Id. at 808-809.

. Id. at 809.

. Preiser v. Rodriguez, supra note 8, 411 U.S. at 494, 93 S.Ct. at 1838, 36 L.Ed.2d at 453.

. Greenholtz v. Inmates of Nebraska Penal & Correctional Complex, supra note 46, 442 U.S. at 11, 99 S.Ct. at 2105, 60 L.Ed.2d at 677 (emphasis in original) (citations omitted).