UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 96-6491

RONNIE PHILLIPS, Plaintiff - Appellant, versus WILLIAM E. GUNN, Director of South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, Defendant - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Columbia. Charles E. Simons, Jr., Senior District Judge. (CA-95-3231-3-6BC) Submitted: July 23, 1996 Decided: August 5, 1996 Before WIDENER, NIEMEYER, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Ronnie Phillips, Appellant Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: Appellant appeals from the district court's order denying re- lief with out prejudice on his complaint alleging that a change in South Carolina law regarding parole eligibility violated the Ex Post Facto Clause and precluded his release on parole. We have reviewed the record and the district court's opinion accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we affirm on the district court's reasoning that Appellant's failure to exhaust state remedies precludes this action. Phillips v. Gunn, No. CA-95-3231-3-6BC (D.S.C. Mar. 15, 1996). See Todd v. Baskerville, 712 F.2d 70, 71-72 (4th Cir. 1983) (exhaustion required when prisoner challenges constitutionality of continued confinement and seeks release or shortening of duration of confinement, even if complaint is styled as a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1988) action). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED