Jimmy Louis Phillips, Petitioner Pro Se v. Bill Williams, Respondents

Summary

The court held that Oklahoma's parole-release procedures did not create a federally protected liberty interest because they provided only a possibility or hope of parole, without mandatory release standards or structured eligibility criteria. Because no federal liberty interest existed, the petitioner was not entitled to written reasons for removal from the parole docket, and the writ was denied. Justice Doolin, dissenting, would have required written reasons because the petitioner had already been placed on the parole docket and thereby acquired a protected procedural interest.