PLC Legal Help Guide: 
Grievances and Exhaustion of Administrative Remedy
Updated May 2013

This Legal Help Guide was compiled by members of the Prisoners' Legal Clinic (PLC) and MIM(Prisons). Please contribute to its accuracy and timely updates. Just write in and tell us what needs to be added, what needs to be updated, etc.

PLC Purpose Statement
The Prisoners' Legal Clinic is an organization of prisoners in the United $tates who are fighting injustice in the anti-imperialist movement. The PLC is led and supported by MIM(Prisons). Fighting the injustice system is just one part of the anti-imperialist struggle, and it is important that we not lose sight of the connections to this larger battle. Many prisoners have written to MIM(Prisons) expressing interest in legal issues, or requesting legal assistance. At the same time, many comrades are facing political repression and censorship from receiving materials from MIM(Prisons). In response, we initiated the PLC in hopes of pushing our legal work forward. The PLC is a space where prisoners can contribute to the legal strategy that will push forward our anti-imperialist agenda. 

The Prisoners' Legal Clinic is part of the international anti-imperialist movement that works from the vantage point of the international proletariat. We carry out our work as part of a larger anti-imperialist strategy. The projects taken on must be directly related to our movement's strategy of building public opinion for national liberation struggles generally, and our work of fighting against censorship and political repression specifically. Therefore, the PLC will not provide one-on-one help for persynal issues or criminal cases. Instead, we encourage comrades to write articles for Under Lock & Key about the political implications of their own cases.

Grievances and Exhaustion of Administrative Remedy
Having our grievances handled properly by prison staff is directly related to preventing arbitrary repression for people who stand up for their rights or attempt to do something positive. A comrade in California sent us a grievance petition to bring light on the failed grievance systems in many states. Prisoners have been adapting the petition to many states across the country. In order to do that, you need to look up the policies referenced in the petition specific to your state, and determine appropriate contacts on the outside to mail it to. As of May 2013, we distribute petitions made up for Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas.

Below is some case law that a PLC contributor thinks would be helpful for members of the legal group. You should find the whole case and thoroughly research the context of the case law before relying on it in your own lawsuit. If you have some knowledge or experience, please send it in so we can include it in this guide. 

"The exhaustion requirement is an affirmative defense which the defendants have the burden to plead and prove." Anderson v. XYZ Corp. Health Servs., Inc., 407 F3d 674 (4th Cir. 2005).

"Defendants may . . . be stopped from raising non-exhaustion as an affirmative defense when prison officials inhibit an inmate's ability to utilize grievance procedure." Abney v. McGinnis, 380 F3d 663 (2d Cir. 2004). "Additionally, exhaustion may be achieved in situations where prison officials fail to timely advance the inmate's grievance or otherwise prevent him from seeking administrative remedies." [Citation not included. - MIM(P)] 

South Carolina: The 1983 has evolved and is now a celebrated sham of gross injustice. It purports to allow prisons to address Constitutional violations and seek relief. This is a deception that undermines the true intentions under the PLRA. Under the PLRA the 1983 is nothing but a trojan horse of legal opportunities. It gives the appearance of redress and resolution while usurping all prisoners' rights through deficiencies, that prisoners have no way of understanding or satisfying. Lastly, the PLRA of 1996 was instituted for Federal courts only, so the PLRA won't really affect state writs. [Many states have instituted laws similar to the PLRA at the state level. - MIM(P)] 

Texas: Concerning the grievance system: It's never going to improve just writing grievances. Why should they? And I don't know about California, but in Texas, grievances are ok but they have no real power unless you back them up with a 1983 or Writ. If you're trying to improve the grievance system, grieve the deficiencies of it, wait for the answers, if they're not what you're looking for then write a petition and have every single person you can see   sign it and by signing it they are swearing to the conditions. Then file a Writ on the conditions of Constitutional violations and ask for an Injunction for everybody. Yes I agree with you, grievances do suck. But you know what sucks even more, knowing that you have to keep going through the same problems over and over again because the problem is not fixed. And writs are so easy, especially when you're tired of allowing anyone to tell you anything or to resolve something and it's not really resolved.

See also A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual Chapter 14 "The Prison Litigation Reform Act." This chapter is available for free online at http://www3.law.columbia.edu/hrlr/jlm/toc/. Alternatively, you can get it from MIM(Prisons) by either contributing to the Prisoners' Legal Clinic, or sending in a financial contribution to cover printing and mailing costs ($12). If you can send stamps, that is easiest. If you need to send a check, just tell us you want to send a check and we will send you instructions.