## Facts

- John J. McCarthy, a federal prisoner at USP Leavenworth, sued federal prison medical and mental-health staff for alleged deliberate indifference to serious medical and psychiatric needs, asserting an Eighth Amendment violation.
- McCarthy brought a Bivens action seeking only money damages and stated on the complaint that it sought monetary relief exclusively.
- The Bureau of Prisons maintained an administrative remedy program allowing inmates to file written grievances about “any aspect” of imprisonment with written responses and short, successive deadlines.
- The grievance program did not provide hearings and did not authorize awards of monetary damages.
- McCarthy did not use the administrative remedy program before filing suit in federal court.

## Issues

1. Whether a federal prisoner must exhaust the Bureau of Prisons’ administrative remedy program before filing a Bivens action seeking only money damages for alleged constitutional violations.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court reversed the Tenth Circuit and remanded.
- The Court held that exhaustion was not required because Congress had not mandated exhaustion for such claims and the administrative process could not grant the only relief requested (money damages).
- The Court applied a discretionary, judge-made exhaustion analysis that balances the individual’s interest in prompt judicial access against institutional interests favoring exhaustion.
- Chief Justice Rehnquist (joined by Justices Scalia and Thomas) concurred in the judgment, agreeing that exhaustion should not be required on these facts.

## Legal Principles

- When Congress mandates exhaustion, courts must require it; absent a statutory mandate, exhaustion is a matter of judicial discretion.
- In nonstatutory exhaustion, courts balance prompt access to a federal forum against interests in agency autonomy and judicial efficiency.
- Exhaustion may be inappropriate when (1) delay would unduly prejudice later court action, (2) the agency lacks power to grant effective relief, or (3) the administrative decisionmaker is biased or has predetermined the issue.
- An administrative grievance system that cannot award the sole relief sought (money damages) weighs strongly against requiring exhaustion as a precondition to a Bivens damages action.

## Conclusion

Because Congress did not require exhaustion for federal prisoners’ Bivens claims and the administrative remedy process could not award monetary damages, the Court held that McCarthy could proceed directly to federal court without first pursuing the Bureau of Prisons’ grievance procedure.


McCarthy v. Madigan, 503 U.S. 140 (1992)