I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4335 

To provide for the redress of prison abuses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2009 

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for the redress of prison abuses, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prison Abuse Remedies 

5 Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SHOWING OF PHYSICAL INJURY NOT MANDATORY 

7 FOR CLAIMS. 

8 (a) CIVIL RIGHTS OF INSTITUTIONALIZED PERSONS

9 ACT.—Section 7 of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized 

10 Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997e) is amended by striking 

11 subsection (e). 


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1 (b) TITLE 28.—Section 1346(b) of title 28, United 

2 States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (2). 

3 SEC. 3. STAYING OF NONFRIVOLOUS CIVIL ACTIONS TO 

4 PERMIT RESOLUTION THROUGH ADMINIS5 TRATIVE PROCESSES. 

6 Subsection (a) of section 7 of the Civil Rights of In7 stitutionalized Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997e(a)) is 

8 amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(a) ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) PRESENTATION.—No claim with respect to 

11 prison conditions under section 1979 of the Revised 

12 statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983), or any other Federal law, 

13 by a prisoner confined in any jail, prison, or other 

14 correctional facility shall be adjudicated except 

15 under section 1915A(b) of title 28, United States 

16 Code, until the claim has been presented for consid17 eration to officials of the facility in which the claim 

18 arose. Such presentation satisfies the requirement of 

19 this paragraph if it provides prison officials of the 

20 facility in which the claim arose with reasonable no21 tice of the prisoner’s claim, and if it occurs within 

22 the generally applicable limitations period for filing 

23 suit. 

24 ‘‘(2) STAY.—If a claim included in a complaint 

25 has not been presented as required by paragraph 


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1 (1), and the court does not dismiss the claim under 

2 section 1915A(b) of title 28, United States Code, 

3 the court shall stay the action for a period not to 

4 exceed 90 days and shall direct prison officials to 

5 consider the relevant claim or claims through such 

6 administrative process as they deem appropriate. 

7 However, the court shall not stay the action if the 

8 court determines that the prisoner is in danger of 

9 immediate harm. 

10 ‘‘(3) PROCEEDING.—Upon the expiration of the 

11 stay under paragraph (2), the court shall proceed 

12 with the action except to the extent the court is noti13 fied by the parties that it has been resolved.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. EXEMPTION OF JUVENILES FROM PRISON LITIGA15 TION REFORM ACT. 

16 (a) TITLE 18.— 

17 (1) JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS.—Section 3626(g) 

18 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

19 (A) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘or adju20 dicated delinquent for,’’; and 

21 (B) so that paragraph (5) reads as follows: 

22 ‘‘(5) the term ‘prison’ means any Federal, 

23 State, or local facility that incarcerates or detains 

24 prisoners;’’. 


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1 (2) ADULT CONVICTIONS.—Section 3626 of title 

2 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

3 the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(h) EXCLUSION OF CHILD PRISONERS.—This sec5 tion does not apply with respect to a prisoner who has 

6 not attained the age of 18 years.’’. 

7 (b) CIVIL RIGHTS OF INSTITUTIONALIZED PERSONS

8 ACT.— 

9 (1) Section 7(h) of the Civil Rights of Institu10 tionalized Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997e(h)), is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘or adjudicated delinquent 

12 for,’’. 

13 (2) Section 7 of the Civil Rights of Institu14 tionalized Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997e) is amend15 ed by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(i) EXCLUSION OF CHILD PRISONERS.—This sec17 tion does not apply with respect to a prisoner who has 

18 not attained the age of 18 years.’’. 

19 (c) TITLE 28.—Title 28, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in section 1915(h)— 

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘who has attained the age 

23 of 18 years’’ after ‘‘means any person’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘or adjudicated delinquent 

25 for,’’; and 


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1 (2) in section 1915A(c)— 

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘who has attained the age 

3 of 18 years’’ after ‘‘means any person’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘or adjudicated delinquent 

5 for,’’. 

6 SEC. 5. MODIFICATION OF BAN ON MULTIPLE IN FORMA 

7 PAUPERIS CLAIMS. 

8 Section 1915(g) of title 28, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘within the preceding 5 years’’ 

11 after ‘‘3 or more occasions’’; and 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘, malicious, or fails to state a 

13 claim upon which relief may be granted’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘or malicious’’. 

15 SEC. 6. FILING FEES IN FORMA PAUPERIS. 

16 Section 1915(b)(1) of title 28, United States Code, 

17 is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘or files an appeal’’; and 

19 (2) by inserting ‘‘and the action is dismissed at 

20 initial screening pursuant to subsection (e)(2) of this 

21 section, section 1915A of this title, or section 7(c)(1) 

22 of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 1997e(c)(1)),’’ after ‘‘in forma 

24 pauperis,’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO RESOLVE AMBIGUITY. 

2 Section 1915(a)1) of title 28, United States Code, is 

3 amended by striking ‘‘that includes a statement of all as4 sets such prisoner possesses’’ and inserting ‘‘(including a 

5 statement of assets such person possesses)’’. 

6 SEC. 8. ENCOURAGEMENT OF APPROPRIATE SETTLEMENT 

7 OF PRISONER LITIGATION. 

8 Section 3626(c)(1) of title 18, United States Code, 

9 is amended, by striking the period at the end and inserting 

10 ‘‘, except that the violation of a Federal right may be al11 leged by plaintiff rather than proven or stipulated.’’. 

12 SEC. 9. JUDICIAL DISCRETION IN CRAFTING PRISON ABUSE 

13 REMEDIES. 

14 Section 3626 of title 18, United States Code, is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(2) by striking the final 

17 sentence; 

18 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting ‘‘if that 

19 party demonstrates that it has eliminated the viola20 tion of the Federal right that gave rise to the pro21 spective relief and that the violation is reasonably 

22 unlikely to recur’’ after ‘‘intervener’’; 

23 (3) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by adding at the 

24 end the following: ‘‘Nothing in this section shall pre25 vent the court from extending any of the time peri26 ods set out in subsection (A), if the court finds, at 


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1 the time of granting or approval of the prospective 

2 relief, that correction of the violation will take longer 

3 than those time periods.’’; and 

4 (4) in subsection (e) by striking paragraphs (2), 

5 (3), and (4). 

6 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

7 The amendments made by this Act shall apply to all 

8 cases currently pending in Federal court and any such 

9 cases filed on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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