Snow

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 When Snow failed to attend treatment sessions, his probation was revoked and a twenty-year term was imposed.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…