Campbell v. Harrison County

── Campbell v. Harrison County ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: June 03, 2026 Category: Civil Rights Case: 25-60328 Document: 55-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/03/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 25-60328 FILED June 3, 2026 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce Carlton Campbell, Clerk Plaintiff—Appellant, versus Harrison County Circuit Court; Harrison County Probation; Crosby Parker; Billy Stage; Joel Smith; Damian Holcomb, Defendants—Appellees. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi USDC No. 1:24-CV-224 ______________________________ Before Jones, Duncan, and Douglas, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: * Appellant Carlton Campbell, proceeding pro se in district court and on appeal, challenges the Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal of his civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Campbell alleges various constitutional violations arising from a probation revocation hearing for his 2017 Mississippi _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 25-60328 Document: 55-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/03/2026 No. 25-60328 conviction of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. We AFFIRM the district court’s dismissal of all claims. Following a 2016 traffic stop, Campbell was convicted of Mississippi Code § 97-37-5 for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon predicated on a 1997 felony conviction and sentenced to five years of imprisonment and five years of post-release supervision. Campbell was paroled prior to serving his full sentence, but the Mississippi Department of Corrections later filed a petition to revoke Campbell’s post-release supervision for failure to pay $2,873.50 in court costs. Campbell subsequently filed constitutional claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against various defendants, including Damian Holcomb, his court- appointed counsel at his conviction; Harrison County Circuit Court; Harrison County Probation; and Crosby Parker, Billy Stage, and Joel Smith (the “Prosecutor Defendants”), the prosecutors that pursued his conviction. The district court dismissed the claims against all defendants pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The district court held that Harrison County Circuit Court, Harrison County Probation, and the Prosecutor Defendants were protected by immunity and that Holcomb had not violated Campbell’s constitutional rights. As alternative grounds to support dismissal, the district court held that Campbell’s claims were barred by Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). Campbell also sought leave to amend to add as a defendant Judge Lisa P. Dodson, the Harrison County Circuit Court judge who presided over Campbell’s criminal proceedings. The district court denied Campbell’s motion, finding that amendment would be futile because Judge Dodson is immune from suit for judicial functions arising out of her official capacity. The district court also noted that, to the extent Campbell seeks to add Judge Dodson to prevent her from revoking his supervised release, the Younger