Sixth Circuit Allows Juvie Inmates to Sue Over Sexual Assaults

The Sixth Circuit ruled unanimously Wednesday that a muddled grievance process prevented minor inmates in Michigan from filing claims of sexual assault by adult prisoners.

A three-member panel of the Cincinnati-based appeals court found a federal judge should not have dismissed the inmates’ civil rights claims against state officials for a failure to exhaust their administrative remedies, because those remedies were so impractical that the process was essentially unavailable to them.