John J. Mccarthy v. Larry Madigan, et al. (503 U.S. 140)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 4, 1992 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 503 U.S. 140 · 112 S. Ct. 1081
- Decided
- March 4, 1992
- Term
- October Term 1991
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Blackmun
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court. The issue in this case is whether a federal prisoner must resort to the internal grievance procedure promulgated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons before he may initiate a suit, pursuant to the authority of Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U. S. 388 (1971), solely for money damages. The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that exhaustion of the grievance procedure was required. 914 F. 2d 1411 (1990). We granted certiorari to resolve a conflict among the Courts of Appeals. 499 U. S. 974 (1991). I While he was a prisoner in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, petitioner John J. McCarthy filed a pro se complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas against four prison employees: the hospital administrator, the chief psychologist, another psychologist, and a physician. McCarthy alleged that respondents had violated his constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment by their deliberate indifference to his needs and medical condition resulting from a back operation and a history of psychiatric problems. On the first page of his complaint, he wrote: “This Complaint seeks Money Damages Only.” App. 7. The District Court dismissed the complaint on the ground that petitioner had failed to exhaust prison administrative remedies. Id., at 12. Under 28 CFR pt. 542 (1991), setting…
Excerpt of a 30,752-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.