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00-1478 Massey v. Helman

By: dmc-admin//August 6, 2001//

00-1478 Massey v. Helman

By: dmc-admin//August 6, 2001//

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“Mr. Massey submits that there are no administrative remedies available to him because FCC Pekin’s grievance procedure cannot provide him with money damages, which is the only form of relief he seeks. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Booth forecloses this argument. The Supreme Court held in Booth that, so long as the relevant administrative process has the authority to take some action in response to a complaint, an inmate must exhaust that process, even if he will not obtain the specific form of relief he desires. See Booth v. Churner, 121 S. Ct. 1819, 1823 & 1825 (2001) (‘Congress has mandated exhaustion clearly enough, regardless of the relief offered through administrative procedures.’). Mr. Massey has not alleged that FCC Pekin has no authority to respond to his administrative complaint in some manner; instead, he alleges only that using FCC Pekin’s grievance process would be futile because it will not provide him with money damages. Booth mandates, however, that we may ‘not read futility or other exceptions into statutory exhaustion requirements where Congress has provided otherwise.’ Id. at 1825 n.6. Thus, we cannot accept Mr. Massey’s argument that there are no administrative remedies available to him because the prison cannot give him money damages. Mr. Massey was required to exhaust FCC Pekin’s administrative review process before filing suit in federal court regardless of the type of relief he sought.”

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Mills, J., Ripple, J.

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