CA10: Heck bars excessive force claim where it attacks ptf’s guilty plea

“Heck bars Mr. Hooks from recovering damages based on the first four alleged uses of force. Mr. Hooks’s no contest plea to two counts of assault and battery of a police officer means he admitted repeatedly hitting the officers before he was subdued. For Mr. Hooks to prevail on his excessive force claim with respect to these uses, he would need to prove that it was unreasonable for the officers to defend themselves by subduing him. In other words, Mr. Hooks would need to show ‘he did nothing wrong.’ … That inquiry would necessarily entail an evaluation of whether and to what extent Mr. Hooks used force against the officers, an inquiry that would take aim at the heart of his criminal plea, thereby violating the spirit of Heck. [¶] The fifth and sixth uses of force are different. …” Hooks v. Atoki, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 40692 (10th Cir. Dec. 29, 2020).