Branon

*182 MEMORANDUM **

Plaintiff/Appellant Mark David Branon appeals the district court’s dismissal of his claims against Defendants/Appellants Larry Debus, Thomas A. Thinnes, Robert Owens, and Bruce Lowe. We affirm. Because the parties are familiar with the factual and procedural history of this case, we need not recount it here.

I

The district court properly dismissed Branon’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim. Branon’s claims are barred under Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 487-88 , 114 S.Ct. 2364 , 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994), because his underlying conviction has not been reversed or otherwise declared invalid. The Supreme Court recently held that the wrongful denial of the right to be assisted by counsel of one’s choice is a structural error which undermines the validity of the criminal proceeding, regardless of harm. United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez, 548 U.S. 140 , 126 S.Ct. 2557, 2563-2564 , 165 L.Ed.2d 409 (2006). Gonzalez-Lopez thus clearly establishes that a § 1983 suit for wrongful denial of the right to be assisted by counsel of one’s choice — the basis of Branon’s complaint — is subject to the Heck rule. Because relief would imply the invalidity of his conviction, it is barred by…