Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Charles Brooks, et al. v. Jeremy James Allen
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, No. 23-3658 · judgment March 26, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) requires incarcerated persons to exhaust grievances using the prison’s grievance process before suing. 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). Consistent with this mandatory exhaustion rule, courts in the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits hold that former inmates who are released while their lawsuit is pending may not amend their pleadings to add unexhausted claims. Courts in the Third, Ninth, and now the Eighth Circuit, on the other hand, have decided that such claims are not subject to exhaustion, effectively creating an end-run around mandatory exhaustion. The question presented here is: When a formerly incarcerated person amends a complaint filed while he was in prison and adds unexhausted claims, does the PLRA require dismissal of those claims?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Elizabeth Catherine Kramer
Office of the Minnesota Attorney General
For respondent
Mahesha Padmanabhan Subbaraman
Subbaraman PLLC
Proceedings
- Dec 08 2025Petition DENIED.
- Nov 18 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/5/2025.
- Nov 14 2025Reply of petitioners Charles Brooks, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Nov 03 2025Brief of respondent Jeremy Allen in opposition filed.
- Oct 30 2025Brief amicus curiae of Minnesota County Attorneys Association filed.
- Oct 03 2025Response Requested. (Due November 3, 2025)
- Oct 01 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/17/2025.
- Sep 26 2025Waiver of right of respondent Jeremy Allen to respond filed.
- Sep 19 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 24, 2025)
- Aug 19 2025Application (25A186) granted by Justice Kavanaugh extending the time to file until September 19, 2025.
- Aug 07 2025Application (25A186) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from August 20, 2025 to September 19, 2025, submitted to Justice Kavanaugh.