Things are looking glum for Keith Raniere in his lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons.
Assistant US Attorney Denise Falk, representing the BOP, moved for a summary judgment dismissing the case based on the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which requires an inmate to “exhaust administrative remedies before filing suit.”
Raniere is a federal inmate at USP Tucson, serving 120 years for racketeering conspiracy, racketeering, forced labor conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, sex trafficking, and attempted sex trafficking.
On December 16, 2022, Raniere filed a complaint in federal court alleging, among other things, that the BOP:
Interfered and frustrated his legal calls, denying him “a reasonable opportunity to communicate in a contemporaneous manner with his lawyers.”
That he could not meet and speak with Suneel Chakravorty, his power of attorney,
That he wants to get out of the SHU.
Keith Raniere loves to teach women. There are no women where he stays now.
Before going to trial, Raniere asked the judge to issue a preliminary injunction, ordering the BOP to ensure that immediately
He receives all legal calls and visits with attorneys whenever the attorneys request.
The BOp recognizes Chakravorty as a legal professional for confidential communication with him.
He should be released from SHU and returned to his original unit. If he has to stay in the SHU, he gets a single cell for safety.
The BOP will not transfer him to another prison.
Judge Raner Collins is a Senior U.S. District Court judge in Arizona. Bill Clinton appointed him.
On April 28, Judge Raner Collins denied the preliminary injunction.
Now the BOP is arguing for dismissal of the lawsuit because Raniere did not “exhaust” his administrative remedies.
The BOP’s Administrative Remedy Program has four levels of review.
The inmate must first try to resolve the problem informally with the Unit Team staff.
If that fails, he may submit a form 542.13(a), 542.14, to the Warden, containing one complaint or a reasonable number of closely related issues.
If the inmate is dissatisfied with the Warden’s response, he can appeal on the BP-10 Form to the Regional Director.
If the Regional Director’s response is also unsatisfactory, the inmate can appeal on the BP-11 Form to the General Counsel. This is the final administrative review level.
If one goes through all four steps, he exhausts his administrative remedies.
Keith Raniere may have little to smile about of late.
During Raniere’s incarceration, he filed 19 administrative remedy appeals related to the lawsuit.
The BOP claims, “To date, Plaintiff has not exhausted a single administrative remedy regarding any of the issues in his Complaint.”
Keith Alan Raniere
The BOP made a list of Raniere’s unexhausted administrative remedies:
Raniere requested to be returned to general population in remedies filed at the local [step 2] and regional levels [step 3]. However, both remedies were rejected because he failed to show an attempt at an informal resolution [step 1]. He has not filed an appeal to the Office of General Counsel regarding that issue.
Raniere requested to be unrestrained during legal visits in remedies filed at the local and regional levels. The regional appeal was rejected because he again failed to show an attempt at an informal resolution. He has not filed an appeal to the Office of General Counsel regarding that issue.
Raniere requested visitation denial information in remedies. He has not appealed to the Office of General Counsel regarding that issue.
Raniere requested information about the denial of Chakravorty on his approved list in remedies filed at the local and regional levels. He appealed to the Office of General Counsel, but his appeal was rejected because he needed to provide a copy of his BP-9 and his BP-10. He was instructed to re-submit his appeal in proper form, but he still needs to do so.
Raniere complained about the loss of his contacts in an inmate computer system in remedies filed at the local and regional levels. The regional appeal is pending, with a response date of May 29, 2023. Having yet to receive a response to his regional appeal, Raniere would still need to file an appeal to the Office of General Counsel.
Raniere complained about being restrained in the SHU for legal visits and legal calls in a remedy filed at the local level. He has yet to appeal to the region or the Office of General Counsel.
Raniere requested information regarding visitors removed from his visiting list in a remedy filed at the local level. It was rejected because he is limited to one request per BP-9 submission. He has not appealed to the region.
He filed two appeals to the Office of General Counsel, which were rejected because he is limited to one request per BP-9 submission.
Raniere requested to be treated like a general population inmate during legal visits, in a remedy filed at the local level, rejected because he failed to state the basis for his request. He has not appealed to the region or the Office of General Counsel.
Raniere filed each of his BP-9’s at the local level before filing the complaint. The only BP-10 and BP-11 Plaintiff filed before filing the complaint concerned his appeal of disciplinary sanctions. Plaintiff filed the remaining BP-10s and BP-11s after filing the complaint.
The BOP made legal arguments why dismissal is required:
Under Rule 56 [motion for summary judgment]: “If the prisoner shows a failure to exhaust, a defendant is entitled to summary judgment.”
Proper exhaustion under 42 USC 1997e(a) requires following “all steps that the agency holds out, and doing so properly (so that the agency addresses the issues on the merits).”
Keith Raniere was assigned to C1 Unit at USP Tucson. But for the last eight months he has been in the SHU.
The SHU at a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
Keith Raniere
Raniere admitted in his complaint that he had not exhausted administrative remedies and sought an injunction “pending administrative exhaustion, regardless of the requirements imposed by 42 USC 1997e.”
The BOP argued Raniere “did not appeal properly an administrative remedy regarding any of the issues in the complaint to the highest level [4th step] before filing suit, choosing instead to skip the process and file suit.
“Many of Plaintiff’s remedies and appeals have been rejected due to his refusal to follow the rules, and he has failed to follow the instructions to cure any of the rejections.”
Accordingly, the BOP now asks the judge to issue a summary judgment dismissing the case.
