Opinion ID: 393054
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: 7 Brady and Crawford, appearing pro se, appeal the dismissal of their consolidated actions. 1 They challenge conditions of their confinement in a federal penitentiary and seek injunctive relief and punitive damages for violation of their constitutional rights against the Attorney General of the United States, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, and the Warden of the Penitentiary. The district court granted defendant's motion to dismiss because appellants failed to exhaust administrative remedies and because the claims were moot. 8 We affirm. HISTORY 9 In 1977, appellants Brady and Crawford filed virtually identical complaints for injunctive relief, damages and petitions for writs of habeas corpus against the defendants 2 challenging the conditions of their confinement at McNeil Island Penitentiary. Crawford's complaint was dismissed and he appealed. In Crawford v. Bell, 599 F.2d 890 (9th Cir. 1979), this court affirmed the district court's dismissal of Crawford's petition for a writ of habeas corpus and those portions of Crawford's complaint which duplicated a pending class action. Thereafter, the class action suit brought on behalf of all McNeil prisoners was dismissed by the district court because the parties stipulated that the issue of unconstitutional overcrowding was moot. 10 On December 13, 1979 the district court consolidated the appellants' cases to consider the issues in their complaints which were not disposed of by the class action dismissal. These issues were whether: (1) the prison library was inadequate; (2) unsanitary conditions in the prison slaughterhouse caused food poisoning; (3) the prison had interfered with visitation rights; and (4) the appellants are entitled to $100,000 each as punitive damages for violations of their constitutional rights. The district court granted the respondents' motion to dismiss because the petitioners failed to exhaust their administrative remedies and because the claims were moot.