Akos Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. a.

Decided February 26, 2002. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 00-1853 · 534 U.S. 506 (2002) · Cited 8,748 times

Holding

The PLRA’s exhaustion requirement applies to all inmate suits about prison life, whether they involve general circumstances or particular episodes, and whether they allege excessive force or some other wrong.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green · 411 U.S. 792 (1973)
• Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence and Coordination Unit · 507 U.S. 163 (1993)
• Conley v. Gibson · 355 U.S. 41 (1957)
• Texas Department of Community Affairs v. Burdine · 450 U.S. 248 (1981)
• Scheuer v. Rhodes · 416 U.S. 232 (1974)
• Hishon v. King & Spalding · 467 U.S. 69 (1984)
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States · 431 U.S. 324 (1977)
• Furnco Construction Corp. v. Waters · 438 U.S. 567 (1978)
• Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston · 469 U.S. 111 (1985)
• McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co. · 427 U.S. 273 (1976)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly · 550 U.S. 544 (2007)
• Erickson v. Pardus · 551 U.S. 89 (2007)
• Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd. · 551 U.S. 308 (2007)
• Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. · 557 U.S. 167 (2009)
• Rotkiske v. Klemm · 589 U.S. 8 (2019)
• Jones v. Bock · 549 U.S. 199 (2007)
• Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales · 545 U.S. 748 (2005)
• Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services · 605 U.S. 303 (2025)
• Christopher v. Harbury · 536 U.S. 403 (2002)
• Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo · 544 U.S. 336 (2005)
• Hill v. McDonough · 547 U.S. 573 (2006)
• DeVillier v. Texas · 601 U.S. 285 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2002). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).