In Sims v. Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections,(11th Cir., July 31, 2023), the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act's requirement that prisoners exhaust available administrative remedies before filing suit only requires exhaustion of the prison system's grievance process. A prisoner does not also have to file a petition with the Department of Corrections seeking a change in its rules. At issue was the Florida prison system's denial of a request by a Muslim inmate for an exemption from grooming rules that require beards be no longer than one-half inch.
