2021 Colorado Code
Title 13 - Courts and Court Procedure
Article 17.5 - Costs - Attorney Fees - Inmate Lawsuits
§ 13-17.5-102.3. Exhaustion of Remedies

1. No inmate shall bring a civil action based upon prison conditions under any statute or constitutional provision until all available administrative remedies have been exhausted in a timely fashion by the entity operating the detaining facility and inmate. For purposes of this subsection (1), an inmate shall be considered to have exhausted all available administrative remedies when the inmate has completed the last step in the inmate grievance process as set forth in the regulations promulgated by the entity operating the detaining facility. Failure to allege in the civil action that all available administrative remedies have been exhausted in accordance with this subsection (1) shall result in dismissal of the civil action.
2. Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, if a court finds that a claim filed by an inmate is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from monetary relief, a court may dismiss the claim without first requiring exhaustion of administrative remedies.

History. Source: L. 98: Entire section added, p. 247, § 2, effective April 13. L. 2001: (1) amended, p. 289, § 1, effective July 1.

This section requires an inmate to exhaust the last step in the inmate grievance process before proceeding to court. Glover v. State, 129 P.3d 1083 (Colo. App. 2005).

This section requires an inmate seeking access to his or her mental health records to first exhaust all available administrative remedies. Kopec v. Clements, 271 P.3d 607 (Colo. App. 2011).

An inmate's action seeking access to such records under § 24-72-305 of the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA) is not exempt from this requirement. Kopec v. Clements, 271 P.3d 607 (Colo. App. 2011).

However, section does not require exhaustion of administrative remedies before bringing a civil action based on prison conditions when the action consists only of claims brought under the common law. Adams v. Corr. Corp. of Am., 187 P.3d 1190 (Colo. App. 2008).

Section neither precludes plaintiffs from bringing an action in common law nor bars them from subsequently renewing a request for punitive damages if the prerequisites for such a request are met. Adams v. Corr. Corp. of Am., 187 P.3d 1190 (Colo. App. 2008).

Subsection (1) requires dismissal of the action for failure to allege the exhaustion of all administrative remedies, even if the relief sought may not be available through the administrative process. Glover v. State, 129 P.3d 1083 (Colo. App. 2005).

Applied in Graham v. Maketa, 227 P.3d 516 (Colo. App. 2010).