Cite as: 503 U. S. 140 (1992)
Opinion of the Court
of a court action. Such prejudice may result, for example, from an unreasonable or indefinite timeframe for administrative action. See Gibson v. Berryhill, 411 U. S. 564, 575, n. 14 (1973) (administrative remedy deemed inadequate "[m]ost often . . . because of delay by the agency"). See also Coit Independence Joint Venture v. FSLIC, 489 U. S., at 587 ("Because the Bank Board's regulations do not place a reasonable time limit on FSLIC's consideration of claims, Coit cannot be required to exhaust those procedures"); Walker v. Southern R. Co., 385 U. S. 196, 198 (1966) (possible delay of 10 years in administrative proceedings makes exhaustion unnecessary); Smith v. Illinois Bell Telephone Co., 270 U. S. 587, 591-592 (1926) (claimant "is not required indefinitely to await a decision of the rate-making tribunal before applying to a federal court for equitable relief"). Even where the administrative decisionmaking schedule is otherwise reasonable and definite, a particular plaintiff may suffer irreparable harm if unable to secure immediate judicial consideration of his claim. Bowen v. City of New York, 476 U. S., at 483 (disability-benefit claimants "would be irreparably injured were the exhaustion requirement now enforced against them"); Aircraft & Diesel Equipment Corp. v. Hirsch, 331 U. S. 752, 773 (1947) ("impending irreparable injury flowing from delay incident to following the prescribed procedure" may contribute to finding that exhaustion is not required). By the same token, exhaustion principles apply with less force when an individual's failure to exhaust may preclude a defense to criminal liability. Moore v. East Cleveland, 431 U. S. 494, 497, n. 5 (1977) (plurality opinion); McKart v. United States, 395 U. S., at 197.
Second, an administrative remedy may be inadequate "because of some doubt as to whether the agency was empowered to grant effective relief." Gibson v. Berryhill, 411 U. S., at 575, n. 14. For example, an agency, as a preliminary matter, may be unable to consider whether to grant relief because it lacks institutional competence to resolve the par-
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