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Blind Prisoner Must Exhaust Administrative Remedies

Article • April 15, 2004 • from PLN April, 2004

Filed under: Blind Prisoners, PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

Blind Prisoner Must Exhaust Administrative Remedies by Blind Prisoner Must Exhaust Administrative Remedies The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a blind prisoner is not excused from the administrative exhaustion requirement of the PLRA, and that a state court finding the prison systems grievance procedure violates Louisiana's State Constitution …

Impeding Grievance Exhaustion May Violate Access to Courts

Article • April 15, 2004 • from PLN April, 2004

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Court Access, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Damages

Impeding Grievance Exhaustion May Violate Access to Courts by A U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin held that a prisoner's access to court was impeded because jail officials interfered with his ability to exhaust his administrative remedies with respect to several non-frivolous claims, which were dismissed for …

Administrative Exhaustion Required in Pre-PLRA BOP Phone Suit

Article • January 15, 2004 • from PLN January, 2004

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Settlements, Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

Administrative Exhaustion Required in Pre-PLRA BOP Phone Suit by The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the administrative remedies exhaustion requirement of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) must be met even where a court approved settlement reached prior to the PLRA's enactment does not so require. …

First Circuit Applies Mailbox Rule to § 1983 Complaints

Article • January 15, 2004 • from PLN January, 2004

Filed under: Injury -- Misc., Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Civil Procedure, Defenses, Parties, Appeals, Limitations, Filing Fees

First Circuit Applies Mailbox Rule to § 1983 Complaints by by Matthew T. Clarke The First Circuit has held that the PLRA's exhaustion of remedies requirement is an affirmative defense, not jurisdictional, and failure to include proof of exhaustion of state remedies will not support sua sponte dismissal. The court …

Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies Not Absolute Bar Suit

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies Not Absolute Bar Suit by The United States District Court for the District Court for the District of Columbia has held that although a D.C. prisoner failed to exhaust administrative remedies prior to filing suit under 42 U.S.C. §1983, the failure may not bar the …

Trial Required in Pennsylvania Guard Beating

Article • November 15, 2003 • from PLN November, 2003

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Discipline, Eighth Amendment, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Civil Procedure, Defenses

Trial Required in Pennsylvania Guard Beating by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that summary judgment for defendant prison guards was inappropriate without a trial to develop the facts, in a case where a prisoner claimed he was viciously beaten by …

Federal Appeals Courts Address Finality of Dismissals, Grievance Contents

Article • October 15, 2003 • from PLN October, 2003

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Medical Misconduct, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Complaints, Appeals, Limitations

Federal Appeals Courts Address Finality of Dismissals, Grievance Contents by In two, separate, unrelated cases, the Third and Seventh U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals have addressed the finality of dismissals without prejudice, the contents of grievances, and various procedural points under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) and prisoner suits …

Informal Grievance Procedure Must Be Exhausted Before Filing Suit

Article • September 15, 2003 • from PLN September, 2003

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Civil Procedure, Complaints, Parties, Conspiracy (Civil Procedure)

Informal Grievance Procedure Must Be Exhausted Before Filing Suit by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed a district court's denial of summary judgment for prison officials after ruling that prisoners were required to exhaust their administrative remedies before bringing a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action even …

Overt Act Unnecessary to Allege Conspiracy Claim in 7th Circuit

Article • August 15, 2003 • from PLN August, 2003

Filed under: Retaliation for Litigating, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Complaints, Conspiracy (Civil Procedure), Wrongful Imprisonment

Overt Act Unnecessary to Allege Conspiracy Claim in 7th Circuit by The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that it is not necessary to allege an overt act to state a conspiracy claim. The court also held that dismissal of a prisoner's retaliation claim for failure …

Consultants Do Not Insulate Officials from Kosher Diet Liability

Article • July 15, 2003 • from PLN July, 2003

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Injunctions (PLRA), Damages, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet, Denial of Religious Services, Religious Practices

Consultants Do Not Insulate Officials from Kosher Diet Liability by Consultants Do Not Insulate Officials from Kosher Diet Liability; Prisoner Loses $30,000 for Failing to Exhaust In an appeal by prison officials of a $30,000 punitive damage award for excluding a prisoner from participating in Jewish services and holidays, the …

Third Circuit Holds PLRA Exhaustion Requirement an Affirmative Defense

Article • June 15, 2003 • from PLN June, 2003

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Civil Procedure, Defenses, Complaints

Third Circuit Holds PLRA Exhaustion Requirement an Affirmative Defense by Bob Williams Third Circuit Holds PLRA Exhaustion Requirement an Affirmative Defense by Bob Williams The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has found that the PLRA's exhaustion requirement is an affirmative defense to be pled by the Defendant. A district court …

Prisoner Rights Litigation, John R. Williams, 2003

Publication • 2003

Filed under: PLRA, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Consent Decrees (PLRA), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Filing Fees (PLRA), Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Physical Injury Rule, Injunctions (PLRA), Prisoner Legal Assistance

Prisoner Rights Litigation, John R. Williams, 2003 PRISONER RIGHTS LITIGATION John R. Williams 51 Elm Street New Haven, CT 06510 203.562.9931 Fax: 203.776.9494 E-Mail: jrw@johnrwilliams.com Because prisoners do not forfeit all civil rights upon conviction, other actions under Section 1983 also are available even to sentenced inmates. There is no …

Federal Legal Standards for Prison Medical Care

Article • May 15, 2003 • from PLN May, 2003

Filed under: CMS, Disabled Prisoners, Medical, Medication, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Expenses, Eighth Amendment, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Physical Injury Rule, Supervisory Liability, Contractor Liability

Federal Legal Standards for Prison Medical Care by Daniel E. Manville Federal Legal Standards For Prison Medical Care by Dan Manville The State is required to provide adequate medical care to those it confines.1 In this time of shrinking budgets, many prison systems have turned to contracting with private health …

When Prison Officials Don't Respond Administrative Remedies Are Exhausted

Article • May 15, 2003 • from PLN May, 2003

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

When Prison Officials Don't Respond Administrative Remedies Are Exhausted by The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a Pennsylvania Federal District Court's dismissal with prejudice of a prisoner's 42 U.S.C. §1983 claim for failure to exhaust remedies. William Boyd a prisoner in custody of the Pennsylvania Department of …

Exceptions Made To PLRA Exhaustion Requirement; Discovery Allowed

Article • May 15, 2003 • from PLN May, 2003

Filed under: Medical, Injury -- Misc., Vision, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Discovery

Exceptions Made To PLRA Exhaustion Requirement; Discovery Allowed by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg Two U.S. District Courts recently made exceptions to the Prison Litigation Reform Act's (PLRA) requirement to exhaust administrative remedies. The Central District of California court ruled that when a prisoner's administrative appeal had been …

State Tolling Statute Applied in § 1983 Action

Article • April 15, 2003 • from PLN April, 2003

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Limitations

State Tolling Statute Applied in § 1983 Action by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that an underlying state tolling statute applied to a state prisoner's 42 USC § 1983 civil rights complaint, thus giving him time to complete his administrative …

PLRA Applies to Juveniles; Claim Administratively Exhausted

Article • March 15, 2003 • from PLN October, 2004

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Burning

PLRA Applies to Juveniles; Claim Administratively Exhausted by A New York federal district court has held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) applies to juvenile prisoners, and the juvenile's actions to air his grievance informally satisfied the PLRA's administrative remedy exhaustion requirement. Corey Lewis, a delinquent resident of the …

Failure to Timely Raise Exhaustion Defense Waives that Defense

Article • February 15, 2003 • from PLN February, 2003

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Defenses, Class Certification

Failure to Timely Raise Exhaustion Defense Waives that Defense by Failure To Timely Raise Exhaustion Defense Waives That Defense In a successful class-action 42 USC § 1983 civil rights complaint brought by seriously mentally ill Wisconsin Supermax prisoners for injunctive relief [see 164 F.Supp.2d 1096], prison official defendants' motion to …

All Aspects of Inadequate Medical Need Not Be Exhausted

Article • January 15, 2003 • from PLN January, 2003

Filed under: Medical, Hepatitis, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

All Aspects of Inadequate Medical Need Not Be Exhausted by A federal court in California held that it is not necessary for a prisoner to allege every aspect of inadequate medical care claims in a grievance for purposes of exhausting administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). On …

Inartful Pro Se Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Survives Motion to Dismiss

Article • January 15, 2003 • from PLN January, 2003

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

Inartful Pro Se Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Survives Motion to Dismiss by Inartful Pro Se Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Survives Motion To Dismiss The US District Court (S.D. Cal.) held that the inartful pro se pleadings of a California state prisoner were sufficient to exhaust his administrative remedies for purposes …