Terry v. Carter
- Gregory Woods
- 1:21-cv-08995
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Terry v. Carter, Judge Gregory Woods entered judgment for defendants after Kevin Terry failed to show that prison grievance procedures were unavailable.
Kevin Terry and defendants Warden Carter, Captain Guerra, 3-AA Housing Unit Captain, Captain John Doe Intake Supervising Captain, and Captain Horton.
What happened
Terry v. Carter involved Kevin Terry’s claims against Warden Carter, Captain Guerra, the 3-AA Housing Unit Captain, Captain John Doe Intake Supervising Captain, and Captain Horton. The court had ruled that Terry did not complete the prison grievance process required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
The court gave Terry until February 3, 2023, to send a letter explaining whether the grievance system was unavailable to him. Terry did not file the letter.
Because Terry missed that deadline, Judge Gregory Woods entered judgment for the defendants and closed the case. The court also said an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Terry permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
The detailed version
- Terry v. Carter · No. 1:21-cv-08995
- Gregory Woods
- Feb. 6, 2023
Background
Kevin Terry sued Warden Carter, Captain Guerra, the 3-AA Housing Unit Captain, Captain John Doe Intake Supervising Captain, and Captain Horton. The judgment refers to the court’s January 17, 2023 opinion, which held that Terry had not exhausted his administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. Exhaustion means completing the required prison grievance process before bringing the lawsuit.
Opportunity to Respond
The court gave Terry an opportunity to submit a letter describing any problems that made the prison grievance system unavailable. The court stated that it would dismiss the action if Terry did not submit the letter by February 3, 2023. The judgment states that Terry had not filed the letter by the time of the February 6 order.
Ruling
The court entered judgment for the defendants and closed the case. It also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Terry permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The judgment does not state that the court decided the underlying claims on their merits; it rests on the exhaustion issue and Terry’s failure to submit the requested letter.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.