Opinion ID: 1852417
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Corrections Administrative Remedy Procedure

Text: The Louisiana Corrections Administrative Remedy Procedure was enacted in 1985 in response to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1997-1997j(1980), which provided standards for the voluntary development and implementation by states of a system for resolution of disputes and grievances raised by prisoners. La.Rev.Stat. 15:1171 is an enabling statute that authorizes the DOC or the sheriff to adopt, for the particular correctional institution, an administrative remedy procedure for receiving, hearing and disposing of complaints and grievances by an offender [6] which arise while the offender is in custody. As originally enacted, Section 1171 encompassed complaints and grievances, without any reference to tort actions. In Mack v. State, 529 So.2d 446 (La.App. 1st Cir.), cert. denied, 533 So.2d 359 (La. 1988), the court held that the statutory plan for administrative remedy procedures was intended to create a mechanism for handling grievances that arise out of prison administration and was not intended to authorize the DOC to render judgments awarding or denying tort damages. The court also pointed out the questionable result of the DOC's interpretation, which would require the institution to make a determination of whether to render a monetary award against itself. 529 So.2d at 448. In 1989, the Legislature amended Section 1171 to expressly include personal injury and medical malpractice in the type of claims encompassed by CARP and to add a provision authorizing monetary damage awards. As to use of CARP, La.Rev.Stat. 15:1171 provides that the administrative procedures, once promulgated, provide the exclusive remedy available to the offender for complaints or grievances governed thereby insofar as federal law allows. [7] Additionally, La.Rev.Stat. 15:1172 provides that the procedure adopted by the DOC or the sheriff constitutes the administrative remedy available to offenders for the purpose of preserving a cause of action, and further prohibits a state court from entertaining such a complaint or grievance unless the offender exhausts this remedy. Section 1172 also authorizes a court to dismiss any petition filed by an offender if the offender fails to pursue the administrative remedy timely. La.Rev.Stat. 15:1177 provides that an offender who is aggrieved by a decision in favor of the DOC in the administrative remedy procedure may seek judicial review, in the 19th Judicial District Court, within thirty days of receipt of the decision. The review is confined to oral argument (which the court has discretion to grant or deny), based on the record made up in the administrative remedy proceeding, [8] although the court may order that additional evidence be taken. The review is further limited to the issues presented in the petition for review and the administrative remedy request filed at the agency level. The court may reverse or modify the decision only for the limited reasons enumerated in the statute, including arbitrary or capricious behavior, abuse of discretion and manifest error.