Federal judge: MDOC grievance system stymies inmate efforts to address complaints

AfederaljudgecriticizedtheMichiganDepartmentofCorrections’grievanceprocess,claimingithindersprisoners’accesstocourts.ThejudgesaidtheMDOCdivertsgrievancestoinformalforums,thencitesfailuretoexhaustformalprocessesasgroundsfordismissal.ThejudgealsopointsoutthattheMDOCoftendismissesgrievancesasuntimelywithoutconsideringdelayscausedbytheprisonmailsystem.LANSING—Afederaljudgehasblastedthegrievanceprocessforstateprisonersasonethatobstructs,deflects,andimproperlyrejectslegitimateandtimelycomplaints. U.S.MagistrateJudgeElizabethStaffordissueda38-pagereportMarch12ina2019lawsuitfiledbyprisonersatWomen’sHuronValleyCorrectionalFacilitynearYpsilanti,whoallegedampandhumidconditionsthere,alongwithpoorventilation,producedpersistentmoldthatdamagedtheirhealth. TheMichiganDepartmentofCorrectionsarguedthelawsuitshouldbethrownoutbecausethewomendidnotproperly“exhausttheiradministrativeremedies,”bycomp