Exhaustion must be proper, following each step and deadline of the institution's grievance procedure. Unavailability excuses the requirement where the process is opaque, unusable, or thwarted by staff.
It is an affirmative defense the defendant must prove.
Alternative Names:
PLRA Exhaustion|Administrative Exhaustion (Prison)
Why it Matters?
Availability is where these disputes now concentrate, since Ross established that a remedy is unavailable when it operates as a dead end, is incapable of use, or is thwarted through machination or misrepresentation, and inmates increasingly plead unavailability rather than exhaustion. Grievance logs, staff responses, and evidence of the process functioning for others are the defense record. The burden rests on the defendant throughout.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Where do exhaustion disputes concentrate?
Who bears the burden?
