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Subsequently, Mr. Skinner brought a 42 U.S.C. \u00a7 1983 suit against the prosecuting attorney in a Texas federal district court alleging that his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process and Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment were violated when the district attorney refused to allow him access to biological evidence for DNA testing. The district court dismissed the case. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed. The court held that circuit precedent established that Mr. Skinner\u0027s claim was not cognizable as a 42 U.S.C. \u00a7 1983 action, but instead must be brought as a petition for writ of habeas corpus.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003ECan a convicted prisoner seeking access to biological evidence for DNA testing assert that claim in a civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. \u00a7 1983?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003EYes. 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