00-1354 McCoy v. Gilbert, et al.

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“McCoy had notice of the new rule, and his reliance interests have not been unduly trammeled. We see no manifest injustice in telling a prisoner on a going-forward basis that he must work through and exhaust the administrative processes available to him, even if such exhaustion was optional under prior law. Congress has merely regulated future conduct without adjudicating the past.

“In the event that the complained-of events transpired before the enactment of the PLRA, a prisoner can show exhaustion by demonstrating that he substantially complied with the institution’s grievance policy. The prisoner must have clearly given the institution notice of his particular demands and reasonably triggered an attempt to resolve them. See Smith, 255 F.3d at 452; Wolff v. Moore, 199 F.3d 324, 328 (6th Cir. 1999). In this case, McCoy spoke informally with the prison guards in his unit, requested medical attention, and cooperated with the Justice Department’s investigation of the prison riot by recounting the events over which he had personal knowledge. Greenville’s medics treated McCoy for his injuries, and the guards forwarded McCoy’s concerns to the warden. The Justice Department’s investigation was launched independently of McCoy’s casual discussions, and it was calculated to effectuate reform on an institutional level, not to identify and respond to the particular grievances harbored by individual inmates. Greenville may have known that McCoy was angered about the guards’ conduct, but McCoy failed to properly and adequately notify the prison that he sought monetary damages and intended to file suit. Therefore, the institution cannot be faulted for failing to address McCoy’s grievance to his satisfaction.”

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Herndon, J., Coffey, J.