ANTHONY MCCLENDON EL v. HEIDI E. WASHINGTON, Warden, et al., - Articles

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ANTHONY MCCLENDON EL v. HEIDI E. WASHINGTON, Warden, et al.,

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jul 21, 2025

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ON BRIEF: Frank J. Lawrence, LAW OFFICE OF FRANK LAWRENCE, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, for Appellant.

Attorneys 2: ON BRIEF: Joshua S. Smith, OFFICE OF THE MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, Lansing, Michigan, for Appellees.

Judge(s): KETHLEDGE, MURPHY, and MATHIS, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Ann Arbor

MURPHY, Circuit Judge. Michigan prison officials have recommended that Anthony McClendon participate in a prison program designed for sex offenders to deter their sexual abuse. McClendon refuses to participate. So Michigan’s parole board has repeatedly denied him parole. In this case, we must consider whether the recommendation to complete the sex-offender program or the resulting denials of parole deprived McClendon of “liberty” “without due process of law” under the Fourteenth Amendment. We hold that McClendon’s due-process claim fails because he has not identified a cognizable “liberty” interest. He does not have a liberty interest in avoiding the “sex offender” label alone. Nor does he have a liberty interest in obtaining parole under Michigan’s discretionary system. And at least because he has committed a sex offense in the past, he also does not have a liberty interest in avoiding the requirement to complete a sex- offender program as a condition of parole. We thus affirm the district court’s dismissal of the complaint.

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