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71 Iowa L. Rev. 935 (1985-1986)
Exhaustion of Grievance Procedures for State Prisoners under Section 1997e of the Civil Rights Act

handle is hein.journals/ilr71 and id is 947 raw text is: Exhaustion of Grievance Procedures for State Prisoners Under Section 1997e of the Civil Rights Act Donald P. Lay* Many state prisoners who believe they have been deprived of their constitutionally guaranteed civil rights by corrections personnel seek in- junctive or monetary relief by suing in federal court under 42 U.S.c. section 1983.1 Prisoner suits under section 1983 have become a signifi- cant means to attack abusive prison conditions and have provided an im- petus for prison reform,2 in part because most states have not provided an effective forum for prisoners to air complaints arising from prison con- ditions. It is not surprising that the number of section 1983 cases brought by state prisoners has swelled the federal court dockets,3 for inmates have sought to use section 1983 to resolve a wide range of grievances that often * Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. J.D. 1951, University of Iowa. The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of three of his law clerks in making this article possible. First, immeasurable thanks and appreciation are due Sheryl L. Walter, J.D. 1984, University of Minnesota, for her dedicated assistance in editing and assembling the manuscript. Great credit is also due Cathy R. Jones and Dennis Ryan, both J.D. 1984, University of Iowa, for their initial research assistance. All letters referred to in this Article are on file with the Iowa Law Review. 1. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1982) provides: Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdic- tion thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress. Section 1983 provides a private federal remedy for persons deprived of their federal rights by individuals acting under color of state law. In Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167, 173-74 (1961), the United States Supreme Court identified three legislative purposes for enacting section 1983. It was designed to provide a federal remedy for injuries resulting from: (1) unconstitutional state laws, (2) state remedies that inadequately protect constitutional rights, and (3) state remedies that are applied in a discriminatory manner. From these purposes, the Monroe Court recognized a congressional intent to provide independent forums, so that plaintiffs might choose either state or federal court as the means to effectuate their claims. By design, the statute interposed the federal government between the state and the claimant and established the federal government as the primary protector and guarantor of the civil rights enforcement powers of state courts. 2. For an extensive study of prisoner section 1983 actions, see Turner, When Prisoners Sue: A Study of Prisoner Section 1983 Suits in the Federal Courts, 92 HARV. L. REv. 610 (1979). 3. The rapid growth of prisoner civil rights actions in the federal courts is evident from the fact that approximately 2030 civil rights actions were filed by state prisoners in 1978. State prisoners filed 11,195 civil rights actions in 1979; for the 12-month period ending June 30, 1985, state prisoners had filed 19,448 civil rights petitions. See ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS,

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