McCarthy v. Madigan

503 U.S. 140 (1992)

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McCarthy v. Madigan

United States Supreme Court
503 U.S. 140 (1992)

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Facts

While a prisoner in a federal penitentiary, John J. McCarthy (plaintiff) filed a pro se complaint in federal district court seeking monetary damages against certain prison employees (defendants). McCarthy brought his suit on the ground that the defendants had violated his constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment by acting with deliberate indifference to his needs and medical condition. The district court dismissed McCarthy’s complaint upon finding that he had failed to exhaust prison administrative remedies as required by the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ “Administrative Remedy Procedure for Inmates.” McCarthy appealed, and the court of appealed affirmed. McCarthy then brought the case to the United States Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Blackmun, J.)

Concurrence (Rehnquist, C.J.)

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