Prisoner – Exhaustion of Administration Remedies

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Elijah Reid v. Marc Balota

Case No.: 19-1396

Officials: EASTERBROOK, RIPPLE, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Prisoner – Exhaustion of Administration Remedies

Elijah Reid, an inmate in the Illinois prison system, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against a correctional officer. He alleged that the officer used excessive force against him in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States as made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court dismissed the action, concluding that Mr. Reid had not exhausted the prison’s administrative remedies before filing the lawsuit, as required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). We now conclude that the prison’s communications were so obscure that they made further steps of its administrative process unknowable and, thus, unavailable to Mr. Reid. We therefore vacate the judgment of the district court and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Vacated and remanded

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.