Grievance Procedures in South Carolina Prisons and Jails

URL: inmateaid.com/grievance-procedures/south-carolina/

ARTICLE

South Carolina is one of the few states where the grievance process does not end inside the walls. After you exhaust the internal steps at the South Carolina Department of Corrections, the next available step is an appeal to the South Carolina Administrative Law Court -- an actual state court, not another level of institutional review. The Department's final answer comes with a Notice of Appeal form attached. You have 30 days to file it. If you do not file that appeal, and you later try to bring a federal civil rights lawsuit, courts in the Fourth Circuit have held that the ALC appeal was an available administrative remedy that you failed to exhaust.

That is the detail most people do not know until it is too late. I did 66 months inside federal custody at FCI Miami. I know that the grievance system's purpose is to build a record -- but in South Carolina, building that record means going one step further than in most states. This guide covers every step from the first informal request to the Administrative Law Court notice.

WHY EXHAUSTION IS NON-NEGOTIABLE IN SOUTH CAROLINA

The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 -- the PLRA -- requires that before any incarcerated person files a federal civil rights lawsuit about prison conditions, they must exhaust every available administrative remedy. In South Carolina, that includes the internal SCDC process and -- critically -- the Administrative Law Court appeal if it is available.

The Supreme Court confirmed the standard in Woodford v. Ngo, 548 U.S. 81 (2006): proper exhaustion means following the facility's own procedural rules correctly at every step. Miss the 8-working-day RTSM deadline, skip the Step 2 Warden appeal, or fail to file the ALC Notice of Appeal within 30 days of the Department's final answer -- and a federal court can find that you failed to exhaust.

SCDC Policy GA-01.12, "Inmate Grievance System," issued September 1, 2023, governs the grievance process for all SCDC institutions. It is publicly available on the SCDC website and is taken judicial notice of by South Carolina state courts.

SOUTH CAROLINA DOC FACILITIES

The South Carolina Department of Corrections operates correctional institutions across the state at multiple security levels. Major SCDC facilities include:

Maximum/High Security -- Broad River Correctional Institution (Columbia), Lee Correctional Institution (Bishopville), Kirkland Correctional Institution (Columbia, including Max Unit and Reception and Evaluation Center).

Medium Security -- Allendale Correctional Institution, Broad River Correctional Institution, Evans Correctional Institution (Bennettsville), Kershaw Correctional Institution, Lieber Correctional Institution (Ridgeville), MacDougall Correctional Institution (Ridgeville), Manning Correctional Institution, Perry Correctional Institution (Pelzer), Ridgeland Correctional Institution, Tyger River Correctional Institution (Enoree), Wateree River Correctional Institution (Rembert).

Minimum Security -- Goodman Correctional Institution (Columbia), McCormick Correctional Institution, Turbeville Correctional Institution, Work/Education Release Centers statewide.

Female facilities -- Camille Graham Correctional Institution (Columbia), Leath Correctional Institution (Greenwood).

All SCDC institutions operate under GA-01.12. Each institution has a designated Institutional Inmate Grievance Coordinator (IGC) -- a non-uniformed employee responsible for receiving, logging, investigating, and resolving grievances at the institution level.

THE GA-01.12 GRIEVANCE PROCESS: STEP BY STEP

GA-01.12 establishes a process with one informal step and two formal steps, followed by the Administrative Law Court appeal. The total processing time from initiation to final disposition is targeted at 171 days, though extensions are possible. Here is each step.

STEP ONE: REQUEST TO STAFF MEMBER (RTSM) -- SCDC FORM 19-11

Before filing a formal grievance, you must first attempt informal resolution by submitting a "Request to Staff Member" on SCDC Form 19-11. This form is also called an RTSM.

SUBMIT THE RTSM WITHIN 8 WORKING DAYS of the incident or issue giving rise to the complaint. The RTSM must go to an appropriate staff member -- the person with the authority or responsibility to address the specific type of complaint you are raising.

The RTSM must receive a response before you can file a formal Step 1 grievance. Under SCDC Policy GA-06.04, "Request to Staff Member," all RTSMs should be responded to within 45 calendar days of entry into the Kiosk system. For inmates in SMU, MSU, Death Row, the Assisted Living Unit, Medical/Infirmary, or Reception and Evaluation beds, the 45 days runs from the date stamped received. A signed copy of the answered RTSM must be attached to your formal grievance -- under Section 13.2 of GA-01.12, the RTSM response is required before the formal grievance can proceed.

Keep your copy of the RTSM and the response you receive. Both go with your Step 1 form.

RTSM EXCEPTIONS: You do not need to submit an RTSM first if your grievance involves sexual assault (no time limit applies to sexual assault grievances), emergency situations, or certain specific categories. If you are unsure whether your complaint qualifies for an exception, ask the IGC at your institution. When in doubt, file the RTSM anyway -- it costs nothing to attempt informal resolution.

STEP TWO: FORMAL GRIEVANCE (STEP 1) -- SCDC FORM 10-5

If the RTSM does not resolve the issue, file a formal grievance using SCDC Form 10-5, "Step 1 Grievance Form."

SUBMIT THE STEP 1 WITHIN 8 WORKING DAYS of receiving the response to your RTSM. Attach the answered and signed RTSM copy to the Step 1 form.

ONE ISSUE PER FORM. GA-01.12 is explicit: only one issue, or one disciplinary conviction, may be addressed on each grievance form. If you have two separate complaints, file two separate forms with two separate RTSMs. Do not combine them.

WHAT TO INCLUDE ON THE STEP 1 FORM:

-- A clear, specific description of the complaint

-- The date, time, and location of the incident

-- Names of staff or inmates involved

-- What you believe was improper and why

-- The specific remedy you are requesting

-- A copy of the answered RTSM

Submit the completed Step 1 form to the IGC at your institution. The IGC logs the grievance, assigns it a tracking number, and investigates. The Step 1 is reviewed at the institution level -- typically by the Warden or appropriate department head.

RESPONSE TIMELINE: The Step 1 response should be issued within the timeframes set by GA-01.12. The total process targets 171 days from initiation to final disposition. Extensions at the Step 1 level only are possible if the Agency Inmate Grievance Coordinator agrees -- if an extension is granted, the IGC will notify you in writing. The maximum extension is 90 days.

Your Step 1 response will be served to you personally by the IGC, in writing, on the applicable SCDC form (Form 10-5 or 10-5a). Keep the response.

STEP THREE: STEP 2 APPEAL (WARDEN/DESIGNEE)

If you are not satisfied with the Step 1 response, you may appeal to Step 2. The Step 2 appeal goes to the Warden or designee, and from there to the Agency Inmate Grievance Coordinator at the Inmate Grievance Branch at SCDC headquarters.

File your Step 2 appeal using the appropriate SCDC form within the timeframe specified in GA-01.12 after receiving the Step 1 response. [VERIFY: Confirm exact number of working days to file Step 2 appeal from current GA-01.12 Section 13. Based on the structure of the policy this is expected to be within 5 working days of the Step 1 response, consistent with standard SCDC practice, but confirm from the full Section 13 text.]

The Agency Inmate Grievance Coordinator or designee reviews the Step 2 appeal and the full grievance record. The response of the responsible official at the Step 2 level is the Department's final response in the matter.

THE DEPARTMENT'S FINAL ANSWER: When you receive the Department's final answer, read it carefully. Attached to the final answer will be a South Carolina Administrative Law Court "Notice of Appeal" form and instructions for completing it, including where it must be sent.

STEP FOUR: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW COURT APPEAL (OPTIONAL BUT EXHAUSTION-RELEVANT)

After receiving the Department's final answer, you have 30 days to file the ALC Notice of Appeal with the South Carolina Administrative Law Court. This is the external appeal step that makes South Carolina's process distinctive.

Whether you must file the ALC appeal to satisfy PLRA exhaustion requirements depends on the nature of your claim and how Fourth Circuit courts have analyzed it. Courts have treated the ALC as an available administrative remedy in some cases, meaning failure to file can constitute failure to exhaust. If you intend to file a federal civil rights lawsuit about your grievance issue, the safest approach is to file the ALC Notice of Appeal within the 30-day window.

The ALC Notice of Appeal form is provided to you with the Department's final answer. Instructions are on the form. Send it to the Administrative Law Court as directed.

After the ALC process concludes -- or if you proceed without filing the ALC appeal and a court later finds it was not required -- you are positioned to pursue your claim in federal court.

GRIEVABLE AND NON-GRIEVABLE ISSUES UNDER GA-01.12

GA-01.12 Section 7 specifies what is grievable. Only one issue or one disciplinary conviction per grievance form. Grievable issues include:

-- Department policies, directives, or conditions directly affecting the inmate

-- Actions of a staff member toward the inmate

-- Actions of an inmate against the inmate (inmate-on-inmate)

-- Inmate property complaints

-- Disciplinary hearing actions -- specifically, appeals of convictions following an innocent (not guilty) plea, or appeals of sentences where the sanction imposed was disproportionate to the violation

-- Classification decisions that directly affect custody level

-- Calculation of sentence-related credits

GA-01.12 Section 8 specifies what is non-grievable. Non-grievable issues include:

-- Institutional and security assignments made at Reception and Evaluation Centers

-- Institutional job assignments (except where medical circumstances are involved)

-- Cell, dormitory, or cubicle assignments within an institution (except where medical or criminal activity is involved)

-- Administrative transfers for bedspace or security that do not result in a custody reduction

-- Disciplinary proceedings that resulted from a guilty plea or informal/administrative resolution (unless the sanction was excessive)

-- State and federal court decisions

-- State and federal laws and regulations

-- Parole Board decisions

-- Matters pending before a state or federal court in which you are a party

-- The status of a pending grievance

-- The disposition of another grievance (you cannot grieve a grievance)

-- Unprocessed or returned grievances

-- Action by the IGC in returning or un-processing a grievance

IMPORTANT: If your grievance involves a non-grievable issue but also implicates criminal activity (Section 15 of GA-01.12), the grievance will be forwarded to the Agency Inmate Grievance Coordinator for review regardless.

If there is a question about whether your issue is grievable, the IGC will confer with the Agency Inmate Grievance Coordinator, whose determination is final. The IGC will advise you in writing of that decision.

EMERGENCY GRIEVANCES

GA-01.12 maintains a separate emergency grievance track for situations requiring immediate resolution. Emergency grievances bypass the standard RTSM step and are evaluated immediately. Mark your emergency grievance clearly as "EMERGENCY."

If the Agency Inmate Grievance Coordinator or designee determines the situation is not a genuine emergency, it will be redirected to the standard track. Do not mark routine complaints as emergencies -- doing so can be treated as misuse of the grievance system.

CRIMINAL ACTIVITY ALLEGATIONS

GA-01.12 Section 15 establishes a separate track for grievances alleging criminal activity. If your complaint involves what you believe is criminal conduct by staff or inmates, the IGC is required to forward the grievance to the Agency Inmate Grievance Coordinator. This does not replace the standard grievance process -- you still need to file and exhaust the formal steps.

COUNTY JAILS IN SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina has 46 counties, each with its own county detention facility. County jails hold people awaiting trial, serving short sentences, or awaiting transfer to SCDC. County jails are not governed by GA-01.12 -- they operate under local policies set by county sheriffs and subject to minimum state jail standards.

If you are in a South Carolina county jail and you intend to file a federal civil rights lawsuit about conditions there, you must exhaust that jail's grievance process, not the SCDC process.

What to do in a South Carolina county jail:

Request the jail's inmate handbook or grievance policy immediately upon arrival. Major South Carolina county facilities include the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center (Richland County/Columbia), Charleston County Detention Center, Greenville County Detention Center, Spartanburg County Detention Facility, and Lexington County Detention Center. Each has its own process.

Document every step in writing. If the county jail provides no written grievance process or refuses access to one, document that refusal in writing. Federal courts have recognized that an effectively unavailable process may excuse exhaustion, but only with documentation.

BOP FACILITIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina hosts two active Bureau of Prisons federal facilities.

FCI Estill -- A medium-security male facility in Estill, Hampton County, in the southern part of the state.

FCI Williamsburg -- A medium-security male facility in Salters, Williamsburg County.

If you are housed at FCI Estill or FCI Williamsburg, GA-01.12 does not apply to you. Use the BOP's Administrative Remedy Program:

BP-8: Informal Resolution with your unit counselor. Document the date and what was discussed.

BP-9: Formal Administrative Remedy Request to the Warden. File within 20 calendar days of the triggering event. The Warden has 20 calendar days to respond (with possible 20-day extension if notified).

BP-10: Regional Director Appeal. File within 20 calendar days of the Warden's response. South Carolina BOP facilities fall under the BOP Southeast Regional Office. The Regional Director has 30 calendar days to respond (with possible 30-day extension).

BP-11: Central Office Appeal to the BOP General Counsel. File within 30 calendar days of the Regional Director's response. The General Counsel has 40 calendar days to respond (with possible 20-day extension).

All four steps must be completed to exhaust federal administrative remedies.

SOUTH CAROLINA-SPECIFIC FAILURE MODES

GA-01.12 is detailed and specific enough to generate well-documented failure patterns. Here is what to watch for:

FAILURE MODE 1: MISSING THE 8-WORKING-DAY RTSM DEADLINE

The RTSM must be filed within 8 working days of the incident. This is not a long window. If you are in the infirmary, in disciplinary segregation, or waiting to see if a situation resolves itself, those 8 working days are still running. Submit the RTSM as soon as possible after the event.

FAILURE MODE 2: NOT ATTACHING THE RTSM TO THE STEP 1 FORM

GA-01.12 Section 13.2 requires that a copy of the answered and signed RTSM be attached to the Step 1 grievance form. An unprocessed grievance returned because the RTSM was missing -- or because the RTSM was not answered yet -- costs you time and may push you past the Step 1 filing deadline. File the RTSM immediately, wait for the response, then file Step 1 within 8 working days of receiving it.

FAILURE MODE 3: NOT FILING THE ALC NOTICE OF APPEAL

The Department's final answer comes with a 30-day window to appeal to the Administrative Law Court. Many people do not know about this step. If you plan to bring a federal civil rights claim, file the ALC appeal. The notice of appeal form is attached to the Department's final answer -- you do not need to create it yourself. Simply complete it and send it where directed.

FAILURE MODE 4: GRIEVING MORE THAN ONE ISSUE ON ONE FORM

One issue per grievance form. This is explicit in GA-01.12. Filing a form that covers multiple complaints may result in the form being returned or only partially processed, leaving some issues unexhausted. File separate forms for separate issues, each with its own RTSM.

FAILURE MODE 5: GRIEVING NON-GRIEVABLE ISSUES

Filing a grievance on a disciplinary conviction that resulted from a guilty plea, on a parole board decision, or on the disposition of a prior grievance -- all of these are non-grievable under Section 8. A returned non-grievable form does not exhaust your administrative remedies for that issue, and it does not excuse you from the correct process. Use the right track for the right issue.

FAILURE MODE 6: GRIEVING A PENDING COURT MATTER

Under GA-01.12 Section 8.5.4, you cannot grieve matters pending before a state or federal court in which you are a party. If your issue is already in court, the grievance for that same matter will be returned as non-grievable. As with Oregon's rule about court filings, be aware of this interaction before you file.

FAILURE MODE 7: RETALIATION

GA-01.12 is explicit: no inmate will be subjected to reprisal, retaliation, harassment, or disciplinary action for filing a grievance. Allegations of reprisal are themselves grievable. If you experience retaliation after filing, document it immediately, treat it as a separate incident, and file a new RTSM on the retaliation within 8 working days. The Agency Inmate Grievance Coordinator may also investigate reprisal allegations directly.

LEGAL RESOURCES IN SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center -- A civil legal organization in Columbia focused on low-income South Carolinians, including those who are incarcerated. Accepts written inquiries.

Disability Rights South Carolina -- Provides legal advocacy for people with disabilities, including those in SCDC custody. Accessible at disabilityrightssc.org. Publishes detailed guides on ADA rights, Section 504, and grievance procedures for incarcerated people.

American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina -- The ACLU-SC accepts prisoner rights inquiries on a selective basis. Based in Columbia; reachable by mail or through family members outside.

University of South Carolina School of Law -- Has clinical programs that may handle prisoner rights cases on a selective basis.

South Carolina Administrative Law Court -- The ALC is located in Columbia and accepts notices of appeal from inmates who have received SCDC's final answer on a grievance. The form and instructions are provided by SCDC with the final answer.

Law Library Access -- GA-01.12 and SCDC Policy GA-01.03 ("Access to the Courts and Legal Materials") require access to legal materials at all SCDC institutions. If you are denied law library access while a legal matter is pending, that denial is itself a grievable issue.

U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina -- South Carolina is a single federal district with courthouses in Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, and other locations. Federal civil rights complaints from South Carolina state and federal prisoners are filed in the district courthouse covering the area where the prison is located. The court accepts pro se civil rights complaints.

THE BOTTOM LINE FOR SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina's grievance process has four real steps if you want to protect your federal rights: the RTSM, the Step 1 formal grievance, the Step 2 Warden appeal, and the Administrative Law Court notice of appeal. Most people know about the first three. The fourth is what separates the people who walk into federal court with fully exhausted claims from the people who get dismissed on procedural grounds.

Submit the RTSM within 8 working days. Attach the RTSM response to your Step 1 form. File Step 1 within 8 working days of the RTSM response. Appeal to Step 2 if you lose. When the Department's final answer arrives with the ALC notice attached, file that notice within 30 days.

One issue per form. Keep every copy. Build the record from the beginning. When the ALC process concludes, you have done everything the law requires -- and you are positioned to be taken seriously.