Snow v. Hill
Snow v. Hill
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Respondent Jean Hill contends that mootness bars review of Petitioner David Snow’s appeal of the district court’s ruling that the state court record contains “some evidence” to support the Oregon Parole Board’s (“the Board”) decision to defer parole. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253.
After being convicted of First Degree Sex Abuse and Use of a Child in a Display of Sexually Explicit Conduct, Snow received a suspended sentence. When Snow failed to attend treatment sessions, his probation was revoked and a twenty-year term was imposed. The Board deferred Snow’s release date for twenty-four months on September 30, 1999, relying on an evaluation by Dr. David Starr that indicated Snow had aggressive tendencies, was in denial of his variant sexual proclivities, and had failed treatment, together raising concerns of recidivism.
After exhausting state remedies, Snow on October 31, 2003 filed a petition for habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, alleging a denial of due process on the theory that the Board lacked sufficient evidence to find that Snow suffered from a present severe emotional disturbance. The district court held that Dr. Starr’s report was “some evidence” in support of deferral under Superintendent v. Hill, 472 U.S. 445, 105 S.Ct. 2768, 86 L.Ed.2d 356 (1985). While this appeal was pending, Snow was released on active parole supervision on February 10, 2006.
An appeal is moot unless petitioner suffered or is threatened with “an actual injury traceable to the defendant and likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision.” Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. 1, 7, 118 S.Ct. 978, 140 L.Ed.2d 43 (1998) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Upon release, a justiciable controversy may still exist if petitioner “suffers from any collateral consequences as a result of the deferral” that may be redressed by habeas relief. Burnett v. Lampert, 432 F.3d 996, 1000 (9th Cir. 2005) (citing Spencer, 523 U.S. at 7, 118 S.Ct. 978).
First, Snow argues, in reliance on McQuillion v. Duncan, 342 F.3d 1012 (9th Cir. 2003) (“McQuillion II"),
Second, Snow argues that his active supervision status is a collateral consequence of the Board’s 1999 deferral. As a remedy, Snow seeks a remand to the district court to determine whether he can transfer to inactive supervision. To avoid mootness, Petitioner must demonstrate the possibility that a decision here could impact a lower court’s proceedings. See Mujahid v. Daniels, 413 F.3d 991, 995 (9th Cir. 2005) (holding case not moot where sentencing court could potentially reduce term of supervised release). Snow has made no such showing here. The Board has the sole discretion to determine whether Snow may transfer to inactive status after his February 10, 2006 release. See Barnes, 977 P.2d at 433 (stating it is inappropriate for state appellate court to order inactive supervision “because that is clearly a decision ... left to the discretion of the Board, based on how the parolee has done on active supervision”). The state circuit court determined on December 5, 1997 that Snow did not substantially comply with the terms of his probation,
Accordingly, we conclude that Snow’s appeal is moot.
APPEAL DISMISSED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
. In McQuillion, we held that rescission of parole violated due process under Hill where the California Parole Board provided no evidentiary support under the statutory factors for determining “good cause” for rescission. See McQuillion v. Duncan, 306 F.3d 895, 906-11 (9th Cir. 2002) (“McQuillion I").
. We cannot question the circuit court’s determination of substantial noncompliance because it is not before this Court. See Burnett, 432 F.3d at 1000 (remedy unavailable because the court would "necessarily have to question ... the validity of his original sentence (or a portion of it)”).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.