TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

U.S Supreme Court Expands Jury Right for Prisoner Suits

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jun 23, 2025
News Type: U.S. Supreme Court

In a 5-4 decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Michigan prisoner is entitled to a jury trial on claims that a corrections officer interfered with his ability to file grievances, a move that could expand access to jury trials in prison litigation cases according to Bloomberg Law. The court sided with inmate Kyle Richards, who alleged that a corrections officer destroyed his sexual harassment complaints, preventing him from exhausting administrative remedies required under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The majority wrote that the exhaustion issue is so intertwined with the merits of Richards’ claim that it falls under the protections of the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. Roberts was joined by four other justices. Justice Amy Coney Barrett filed a dissent joined by Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas.

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