Opinion

Emerson v. Mississippi State Parole Board

  • 86 F. App'x 784
Court
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Filed
Feb 17, 2004
Status
Published
Author
Garza
On the bench
Garza
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 10.0%

The opinion

GARZA, Circuit Judge. 1

In this appeal we review the district court’s decision to dismiss Plaintiff-Appellant, Clinton Emerson’s (hereinafter “Emerson”), civil rights complaint for failing to state a cause of action upon which relief could be granted and the denial of his post-judgment motion.

Emerson is serving a life sentence plus fifteen years’ imprisonment in Mississippi. After being denied parole for the fourth time, Emerson sought to appeal the Mississippi State Parole Board’s decision. He was denied because there is no appeals process in Mississippi for decisions made by the Parole Board. Emerson then filed suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , asking for an investigation into Mississippi’s parole procedures. He also claimed that the Parole Board had violated his civil rights by denying him parole.

The district court properly dismissed Emerson’s suit because under Mississippi law, Emerson has no protected liberty interest in parole. See MISS. CODE ANN. §§ 47-7-3, 47-7-17; Scales v. Mississippi State Parole Bd., 831 F.2d 565, 565-66 (5th Cir.1987). Thus, Emerson cannot show that he suffered the deprivation of a constitutional right. Id. Emerson’s also fails to make the requisite showing for an equal protection claim. See Thompson v. Patteson, 985 F.2d 202, 207 (5th Cir.1993).

Further, the district court was correct in denying Emerson’s post-judgment motion arguing that the Administrative Procedure Act applied to the Mississippi State Parole Board’s procedures. The Mississippi State Parole Board is not an agency under the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act. Johnson v. Wells, 566 F.2d 1016, 1018 (5th Cir.1978); Edward H. Bohlin Co. v. Banning Co., 6 F.3d 350, 353 (5th Cir.1993).

For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is affirmed.

. Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the Court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.