21. Grievance procedures, prisoner.

U.S. District Court

RIGHT OF ACCESS

PLRA- Prisoner Litigation

Reform Act

Lopez v. Smiley, 375 F.Supp.2d 19 (D.Conn. 2005). A state inmate filed a [section] 1983 action alleging that one corrections officer assaulted him and that other officers failed to intervene. The district court denied the inmate's motion to modify his amended complaint, in part, and the inmate moved for reconsideration. The district court granted the motion. The court held that fact issues remained as to whether officials suppressed the inmate's grievance, and whether an officer had legal justification to hit the inmate. The court noted that deliberate obstruction of access to a prison grievance system, if proven, can be grounds to bar the enforcement of the exhaustion requirements of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). (Northern Correctional Institution, Connecticut)

U.S. Appeals Court

RETALIATION

Siggers-El v. Barlow, 412 F.3d 693 (6th Cir. 2005). A state prisoner brought an action against a prison block officer, alleging that the officer transferred him to another prison in retaliation for exercising his First Amendment rights when he complained to the officer's supervisors that the officer had failed to authorize disbursements of money from his prison account to pay his lawyer to review his appellate brief and file. The district court denied the officer's motion for summary judgment and the officer appealed. The appeals court, affirmed. The court held that the prisoner engaged in protected conduct when he informed the officer's supervisor about the refusal to release funds, for the purposes of his First Amendment retaliation claim. The court found that the officer took an adverse action against the prisoner even though the officer's action simply made the prisoner eligible for a routine transfer, and the violation involved a clearly established right of which a reasonable officer would have been aware. (Michigan Department of Corrections)

U.S. Appeals Court

EXHAUSTION

PLRA-Prisoner Litigation

Reform Act

Westefer v. Snyder, 422 F.3d...