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Supreme Court Holds Administrative Remedies Must Be Properly Exhausted Under the PLRA
by John E. Dannenberg
The U.S. Supreme Court held that before filing a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint, a prisoner must
first fully, properly and timely exhaust his administrative remedies. Specifically, as here, failure to
properly exhaust remedies below may not later be cured by claiming that no other …
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More from this issue:
- For-Profit Transportation Companies: Taking Prisoners, and the Public, for a Ride, by Alex Friedmann
- PLN Wins FOIA Suit to Gain Copies of BOP Verdicts and Settlements without Charge, by John E Dannenberg
- Florida Guards a Day Late and a Dollar Short with Failure to Exhaust Defense; $180,000 Verdict Upheld
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $500,000 CCA Escape/Hostage Damage Award Upheld
- Brownsville Texas Border Corruption Continues, by Gary Hunter
- A Captive Audience For Salvation, by Jane Lampman
- Pro Se Tips and Tactics: Fourteenth Amendment - Due Process: U. S. Supreme Court Clarifies Some Rights, by Daniel Manville
- Supreme Court: Banning Publications to Punish Recalcitrant Prisoners Trumps Their First Amendment Rights, by John E Dannenberg
- CSC Alien Abuse Class Action Settled for $2.5 Million
- Supreme Court Says No to Trial by Military Commission for Gitmo Prisoners, by Matthew T. Clarke
- No Room in Prison? Ship Em Off Prisoners have become unwitting pawns in a lowest-bidder- gets-the-convict shuffle game, by Silja JA Talvi
- U.S. Government Settles 9-11 Detainee Abuse Suit for $300,000, by Matthew T. Clarke
- Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ordered to Pay Prisoner $500 For Misconduct, by Michael Rigby
- Widespread Prisoner Labor Abuse Requires Reform, by Gary Hunter
- Nevada Summary Judgment for Non-Exhaustion Reversed
- New York Strip-Search Suit Settled for $1.7 Million
- Kentucky County Jail Settles Lawsuit Alleging Overcrowded Conditions, by Michael Rigby
- CCA Fineable in New Contracts With Colorado and Hawaii, by Matthew T. Clarke
- Virginia Sheriffs Pay for Christian Ministries, by Michael Rigby
- Washington DOC Settles Mail Censorship Suit with PLN for $442,500 in Fees and Damages, by John Dannenberg
- $75,000 Settlement for Untreated Wisconsin Methadone Patient, by Michael Rigby
- Virginia Prisoners Challenge Grooming Policy Under RLUIPA
- Florida County Bucks Paying $300,000 in Prisoner Medical Bills
- Sexually Abused Texas Prisoner Loses Federal Lawsuit, Returns To Prison, by Michael Rigby
- Asthmatic South Carolina Prisoner Awarded $3,200 on ETS Claim
- FL Work Releasees Reporting to Work Late Doesnt Amount to Escape
- Supreme Court Holds Administrative Remedies Must Be Properly Exhausted Under the PLRA, by John Dannenberg
- Delaware Legislature Rejects Bill Upgrading Prison Health Care, by David Reutter
- Dismissal of Failure to Protect Claim Reversed; No Showing Necessary to Survive Rule 12(b)(6) Dismissal
- Oklahoma Requires Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies For Ex-Prisoner Suits
- News in Brief:
- $470,000 Paid in Pennsylvania Jail Prisoners Seizure Related Death
More from John Dannenberg:
- Disciplinary Self-Help Litigation Manual, 2d Ed., by Dan Manville, March 5, 2015
- Systemic Changes Follow Murder of Colorado Prison Director, July 10, 2014
- The Redbook – A Manual on Legal Style, April 15, 2014
- Arrest-Proof Yourself, by Dale Carson and Wes Denham, March 15, 2014
- Arrested: What to do When Your Loved One’s in Jail, by Wes Denham, Feb. 15, 2014
- California Parole Board Agrees to Implement Policy to Fix Terms at Lifers’ Initial Hearings, Jan. 15, 2014
- FCC Order Heralds Hope for Reform of Prison Phone Industry, Dec. 15, 2013
- Federal Court Orders California to Release 9,600 More Prisoners, Aug. 15, 2013
- Valley Fever Declared a Public Health Emergency at Two California Prisons; Court Orders Prisoner Transfers, July 15, 2013
- Plata and Coleman Showdown in California, June 15, 2013
More from these topics:
- Texas Officials Testify That Cost to Air Condition Prisons Tops $1.5 Billion, May 1, 2026. Eighth Amendment, Exposure to Heat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Deliberate Indifference, Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA).
- Ohio Supreme Court Awards Prisoner $1,000 for Denied Records Request, April 1, 2026. Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Damages, Public Records, Public Records Act.
- Eleventh Circuit: District Court Erred in Dismissing BOP Prisoner’s Medical Claim, Finds Prison Officials Made Administrative Remedies Unavailable, March 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, OB/GYN, Failure to Treat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Deliberate Indifference.
- U.S. District Court in Arizona Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Prisoner Denial of Forms for Challenging 455 Days of Solitary, Jan. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Chemical Spraying of Mentally Ill Inmates, Deliberate Indifference.
- Second Circuit Vacates Finding that Prisoner Failed to Exhaust Administrative Remedies; Remands Conditions of Confinement and Due Process Claims, Dec. 1, 2025. Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Municipal Liability, Ad-Seg Hearings.
- Eighth Circuit: Former Prisoner’s Amended Complaint Filed After Release Not Subject to PLRA Exhaustion Requirement, Dec. 1, 2025. Failure to Treat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Complaints, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- Wisconsin Prisoner Wins in Seventh Circuit Review of Exhaustive Remedies Case, Dec. 1, 2025. Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Grievances, Jury Trial.
- Ninth Circuit Finds No Bivens Extension Needed for Federal Prisoner Prescribed Water and Exercise for Thyroid Storms, Nov. 1, 2025. Systemic Medical Neglect, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions, Deliberate Indifference, Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA).
- Appeals Court Allows Illinois Prisoner’s Suit for Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies, Nov. 1, 2025. Failure to Treat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Summary Judgment, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Hearsay Evidence/Exceptions.
- Appeals Court Rules Michigan’s Tolling Provision Is Not Inconsistent with the PLRA, Nov. 1, 2025. Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Limitations, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Tolling of Statutes of Limitations and Laches.

