§ 8.01-243.2.Limitations of actions by confined persons; exhaustion.

Section 8.01-243.2 puts a gatekeeping requirement in front of any lawsuit a confined person brings, or has brought on his behalf, about the conditions of confinement in a state or local correctional facility: the available administrative remedies inside the facility have to be exhausted first. A confined person cannot go straight to court about the conditions of confinement without first working through whatever grievance process the facility provides.

Once that exhaustion requirement is satisfied, the section sets a two-track deadline and takes whichever gives the claimant more time: one year after the cause of action accrues, or six months after all administrative remedies are exhausted, whichever occurs later. That structure means a confined person who exhausts remedies quickly still has the benefit of the full one-year period, while someone whose grievance process drags on gets an additional six months from the end of that process, so the exhaustion requirement itself does not eat into the time available to sue.