Bruno Mpoy v. John Burst

Summary

The court held that a plaintiff bringing a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in federal court need not exhaust administrative remedies available under District of Columbia law unless Congress has imposed such a requirement. It rejected the district court's conclusion that the CMPA either required exhaustion or precluded federal subject-matter jurisdiction over the claim, and held that the dismissal of the related D.C.-law claims could not stand once the § 1983 dismissal was reversed. The court reversed the § 1983 dismissal, vacated the dismissal of the D.C.-law claims, and remanded.