Opinion ID: 4572991
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: New York State’s Inmate Grievance Program

Text: DOCCS regulations outline the procedures that apply to the Inmate Grievance Program at Coxsackie. First, the inmate must generally file a grievance with the Inmate Grievance Resolution Committee (“IGRC”) within 21 days of the incident. N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. (“NYCRR”) tit. 7 § 701.5(a)(1), (b). The IGRC must render a decision within 18 days of receipt. Id. § 701.5(b)(2)(ii), (b)(3)(i). If the IGRC renders an adverse decision, the inmate has seven days from receipt to appeal to the superintendent of the facility, who then has 20 days to respond. Id. § 701.5(c). If the superintendent renders an adverse decision, the inmate has seven days to appeal to the CORC. Id. § 701.5(d)(1)(i). The CORC, in turn, “shall review each appeal [and] render a decision on the grievance . . . within 30 calendar days from the time the appeal was received.” Id. § 701.5(d)(3)(ii). 3 3In the text of the NYCRR, this provision appears below the actual 701.5(d)(2) as a second 701.5(d)(2), followed by 701.5(d)(4). We recognize this as a scrivener’s error and refer to the second 701.5(d)(2) as 701.5(d)(3) for clarity. See, e.g., Girard v. Chuttey, No. 18-2997, 2020 WL 5415477, at  (2d Cir. Sept. 10, 2020). 5 Under the regulations, both the inmate and prison officials may request an extension of any of the time limits outlined in the Inmate Grievance Procedure. Id. § 701.6(g). But extension requests from the officials will only be granted “with the written consent of the grievant.” Id. § 701.6(g)(2). “Absent such extension, matters not decided within the time limits may be appealed to the next step.” Id. An inmate alleging sexual abuse, however, need not follow this three-step procedure. Instead, DOCCS regulations provide that an allegation concerning an incident of sexual abuse or sexual harassment “shall be deemed exhausted if official documentation confirms that” the inmate reported the incident “to facility staff.” Id. § 701.3(i).