Opinion ID: 3031007
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Sixth Circuit: An Untimely Administrative

Text: Appeal Satisfies the PLRA’s Exhaustion Requirement In Thomas v. Woolum, 337 F.3d 720 (6th Cir. 2003), the Sixth Circuit held that a prisoner exhausts all available administrative remedies when he finishes “one complete round of the prison [grievance] process,” regardless whether he filed a timely appeal. Id. at 733. The court explained that the PLRA’s exhaustion provision is “a benefit accorded to state prisons, an opportunity to satisfy those inmate grievances the state wishes to handle internally.” Id. at 726 (citing Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 492 (1973)). According to the Sixth Circuit, when filing a late claim, a prisoner fulfills the letter and spirit of the PLRA by providing the state an opportunity to review the claim. See id. If the state refuses to consider the claim, then this decision should not “handcuff the federal courts in adjudicating cases involving important federal rights.” Id.