Section 33-2-11 - Corrections department powers; complaints.
33-2-11. Corrections department powers; complaints.
A. The corrections department has the power and the duty to examine and inquire into all matters connected with the government, discipline and police of the corrections facilities and the punishment and treatment of the prisoners; the department, shall inspect the corrections facilities and listen to any complaints of oppression or misconduct on the part of the warden or any of the other employees under him; and for that purpose, the secretary of corrections has the power to issue subpoenas and compel attendance of witnesses and to administer oaths.
B. No court of this state shall acquire subject-matter jurisdiction over any complaint, petition, grievance or civil action filed by any inmate of the corrections department with regard to any cause of action pursuant to state law that is substantially related to the inmate's incarceration by the corrections department until the inmate exhausts the corrections department's internal grievance procedure. Upon exhaustion of this administrative remedy, the first judicial proceeding shall be a de novo hearing, unless otherwise provided by law.
C. In any action brought by an inmate of the corrections department pursuant to Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, the court shall, if the court believes that such a requirement would be appropriate and in the interests of justice, continue the case for a period of ninety days for the purpose of exhaustion by the inmate of any available plain, speedy and effective administrative remedies, but the exhaustion of those remedies shall not be required unless the court has determined, or the attorney general of the United States has certified, that the administrative remedies are in substantial compliance with the minimum acceptable standards adopted under 42 U.S.C. Section 1997e(b).