Preiser v. Rodriguez
United States Supreme Court
411 U.S. 475 (1973)
State prisoners (plaintiffs) sued prison officials and New York's correctional department (defendants) under Section 1983, alleging wrongful denial of good-conduct-time credit that, if restored, would result in their immediate release; the state argued the federal habeas corpus statute, 28 U.S.C. Section 2254, was the specific remedy requiring exhaustion of state remedies first, while the prisoners argued Section 1983 let them bypass that exhaustion requirement. The district court and court of appeals sided with the prisoners, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether state prisoners may bring Section 1983 claims to challenge the fact or duration of their confinement when the federal habeas corpus statute provides a specific remedy for such claims.