A federal judge has dismissed an incarcerated man’s lengthy set of assault allegations against state prison officials because he did not properly file three grievances for each incident first.

Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, people who are incarcerated must “exhaust” their administrative remedies before bringing a civil rights lawsuit. In Colorado’s Department of Corrections, detainees need to file a series of escalating grievances – known as step 1, step 2 and step 3.

Terance D. Wilson alleged employees at various facilities subjected him to excessive force, cruel and unusual punishment, retaliation and other constitutional violations by:

? Failing to prevent assaults on Wilson by gang members, which they knew would happen

? Deliberately placing him in the same pod as a man who ultimately “nearly killed” Wilson

? Beating and tasing him

? Placing him in solitary confinement as retaliation for filing grievances

? Sexually assaulting him

Wilson suffered a “years-long campaign of illegal retaliation” and was “singled out for near constant harassment and physical abuse,” wrote Wilson’s lawyers in 2021, shortly before he fired them.

Proceeding by himself, Wilson attempted to defend against the government’s sole argument: He did not go through all three grievance steps for each alleged incident of violence. The corrections department submitted paperwork showing Wilson did file numerous grievances, but he neglected to include key information or attempted to change the focus, such that a grievance officer rejected the paperwork.

“I could not determine from your Step 3 grievance or any other step, what relief you are asking for,” read one denial letter.

In July, U.S. Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter recommended dismissing the entirety of Wilson’s claims because he did not comply with the Prison Litigation Reform Act by adequately completing all three grievance steps.

“He cites to grievances he believes have been exhausted, but all were denied on procedural grounds which means, under CDOC regulations, they were not exhausted,” Neureiter wrote.

On Aug. 3, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Christine M. Arguello adopted Neureiter’s recommendation and dismissed the case.

The nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative has advocated for repealing the Prison Litigation Reform Act, arguing the complicated requirements of the grievance process render many prisoner lawsuits “nonstarters.” Lawmakers of both parties originally supported the 1995 legislation to cut down on frivolous litigation, which then-Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole referred to as “fun-and-games.”

Colorado’s U.S. District Court is about to begin a pilot program at one state prison, Fremont Correctional Facility, intended to make incarcerated plaintiffs more effective at litigating their cases when they lack counsel. The initiative will enable prisoners to receive a 20-minute phone call with volunteer lawyers to discuss their lawsuits once assigned to a judge’s docket.

“There are traps for the unaware prisoner,” civil rights attorney David Lane said in endorsing the pilot. “Such as, you have to exhaust all administrative remedies before you can file a claim.”

The pilot program will begin Sept. 1, and the district court recently closed a monthlong public comment period about the proposal. The court’s clerk told Colorado Politics it received no comments.

The case is Wilson v. Johnson et al.