United States Parole Commission Et Al. v. Geraghty

This case raises the question whether a trial courts denial of a motion for certification of a class may be reviewed on appeal after the named plaintiffs personal claim has become "moot." The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a named plaintiff, respondent here, who brought a class action challenging the validity of the United States Parole Commissions Parole Release Guidelines, could continue his appeal of a ruling denying class certification even though he had been released from prison while the appeal was pending. We granted certiorari, 440 U.S. 945 (1979), to consider this issue of substantial significance, under Art. III of the Constitution, to class-action litigation, and to resolve the conflict in approach among the Courts of Appeals.