When can a state prisoner seek a writ of habeas corpus or declaratory relief?

When a state prisoner seeks monetary or declaratory relief alleging constitutional violations that would necessarily imply the invalidity of his or her conviction or sentence, and cannot establish that the underlying conviction or sentence has been invalidated, the sole federal remedy is a writ of habeas corpus, not a civil rights action. See Preiser v.

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Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 500 (1973) ("[W]hen a state prisoner is challenging the very fact or duration of his physical imprisonment, . . . his sole federal remedy is a writ of habeas corpus."); Edwards v. Balisok, 520 U.S. 641, 646 (1997); 28 U.S.C. 2254.