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Outside Spiritual Leaders Must be Allowed Access to Prisoners

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Federal Statutory Law, RLUIPA, Clergy

Outside Spiritual Leaders Must be Allowed Access to Prisoners by In 2004, prisoners at the Indiana State Penitentiary were denied Moorish Science services because spiritual leaders were suspended from entering the prison. The warden said the suspension was only temporary, but wasn?t clear about what had to be done to …

Summary Judgment Reversed on Denial of Prisoner Atheist Group

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: RLUIPA, Qualified Immunity, Religious Freedom, Denial of Religious Services, Clergy, Proselytizing

Summary Judgment Reversed on Denial of Prisoner Atheist Group by Bob Williams By Bob Williams The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has reversed a summary judgment against a Wisconsin state prisoner whose request to form a prisoner atheist group was denied by the Wisconsin Department of …

Tenth Circuit OKs First Raising Qualified Immunity on SJ

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Summary Judgment, Federal Statutory Law, RLUIPA, Qualified Immunity, Denial of Religious Services

Tenth Circuit OKs First Raising Qualified Immunity on SJ by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that prison officials did not waive a qualified immunity defense by failing to raise it in responsive pleadings, and the district court erred in failing to address the defense in the summary judgment …

Arkansas Prisoner Denied Kosher Diet Awarded $1,500

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Damages, Federal Statutory Law, RLUIPA, Religious Diet

Arkansas Prisoner Denied Kosher Diet Awarded $1,500 by On August 25, 2006, the Director of the Arkansas Department of Corrections was ordered to pay state prisoner Michael Fegans $1,500 for violating his constitutional rights to a kosher diet. Fegans is a devout member of the Assemblies of Yahweh, a religious …

Pennsylvania DOC Settles Religious Dietary Suit

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Federal Statutory Law, RLUIPA, Religious Diet

Pennsylvania DOC Settles Religious Dietary Suit by On December 26, 2006, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) agreed to provide substitute meals to state prisoner Alfonso Pew whenever pork is served. Pew claimed that while imprisoned in the Restrictive Housing Unit, prison officials refused to provide peanut butter or any …

Louisiana Prisoner Denied Religious Materials Under “Approved Vendor” Policy Settles Suit for $21, 786.13 in Damages and Fees

Article • June 15, 2007 • from PLN June, 2007

Filed under: Federal Statutory Law, RLUIPA, Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Religious Property

Louisiana Prisoner Denied Religious Materials Under “Approved Vendor” Policy Settles Suit for $21, 786.13 in Damages and Fees by Louisiana Prisoner Denied Religious Materials Under "Approved Vendor" Policy Settles Suit for $21, 786.13 in Damages and Fees The State of Louisiana has settled with a prisoner who was denied religious …

Muslim Prisoner Entitled to Prayer Oil; RLUIPA Held Constitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: RLUIPA, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet, Religious Property

Muslim Prisoner Entitled to Prayer Oil; RLUIPA Held Constitutional by A federal district court in Wisconsin has held that a Muslim prisoner is entitled to possess prayer oil in his cell, and held the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) is constitutional. Prisoner Jerry Charles filed …

RLUIPA Found Unconstitutional by Sixth Circuit

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Federal Statutory Law, RLUIPA

RLUIPA Found Unconstitutional by Sixth Circuit by The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act violates the Establishment Clause because it favors religious rights over other fundamental rights without any showing that religious rights are at any greater risk of deprivation. It is not necessary to avoid an Establishment Clause …

No Right To Halal Meat for Washington State Prisoner If Kosher Fits Religious Needs

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: RLUIPA, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet

No Right To Halal Meat for Washington State Prisoner If Kosher Fits Religious Needs by No Right To Halal Meat for Washington State Prisoner If Kosher Fits Religious Needs Pro se Washington State prisoner and Muslim Linniell Phipps claimed constitutional violations when his facility substituted Kosher meals for Halal meat. …

Seventh Circuit Upholds RLUIPA as Constitutional Under Spending, Establishment Clauses

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Federal Statutory Law, RLUIPA, Denial of Religious Services, Religious Practices, Federal Legislation

Seventh Circuit Upholds RLUIPA as Constitutional Under Spending, Establishment Clauses by Seventh Circuit Upholds RLUIPA as Constitutional Under Spending, Establishment Clauses The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming the federal district court, Western District of Wisconsin, held that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) was constitutional …

Injunction Issued in Church Sleeping Space for Homeless

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Injunctions, RLUIPA, Religious Practices

Injunction Issued in Church Sleeping Space for Homeless by Violations of First Amendment rights are considered irreparable injury for purposes of a preliminary injunction. In Free Exercise Clause cases, courts are not permitted to inquire into the centrality of a professed belief to the adherent's religion or to question its …

RLUIPA Kouplock Injunction Reversed; Deference to Prison Officials Required

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Grooming Rules, RLUIPA, Religious Freedom, Religious Grooming

RLUIPA Kouplock Injunction Reversed; Deference to Prison Officials Required by David Reutter By David M. Reutter The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed an Ohio federal district court's temporary injunction that allowed a Native American Indian prisoner to grow and maintain a kouplock. The district court, using RLUIPA as …

California Religious Grooming, Muslim Sabbath Rule Enjoined, Good Time Restored

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Good Time, RLUIPA, Religious Grooming, Denial of Religious Services

California Religious Grooming, Muslim Sabbath Rule Enjoined, Good Time Restored by Plaintiff Muslim prisoners sought injunctive relief against restrictions on their religious practice; their claims, initially brought under the First Amendment, are now governed by RLUIPA. The court previously granted preliminary injunctive relief (renewed repeatedly because of the PLRA's 90-day …

MI Court Holds RLUIPA Constitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Gang Policies, Religious Discrimination, Federal Statutory Law, RLUIPA, Religion Defined

MI Court Holds RLUIPA Constitutional by A Michigan Federal Court held the religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of 2000, 42 U.S.C. section 2000cc, is constitutional. Members of the Melanic Islamic Palace of the Rising Sun brought this class action suit after the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) …

Eleventh Circuit Holds RLUIPA Constitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: RLUIPA, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet, Religious Practices

Eleventh Circuit Holds RLUIPA Constitutional by David Reutter By David M. Reutter The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) does not violate either the Spending Clause, the Establishment Clause, or the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Georgia Prisoner Ralph …

Denial of Vegan Diet Meets PLRA's Physical Injury Requirement

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Food, PLRA, Physical Injury Rule, RLUIPA

Denial of Vegan Diet Meets PLRA's Physical Injury Requirement by An Illinois federal district court has held that a prisoner's allegation that he was deprived of a vegan diet meets the physical injury requirement under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). Illinois prisoner Stanley Wofford brought suit under the Religious …

Aliens May Sue Private Detention Companies Under ATCA

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Esmor/CSC, Misconduct/Corruption, Contractor Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Prison Rebellion, Systemic Medical Neglect, Strip Searches, Totality of Conditions, Food, Overcrowding, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene Supplies, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Class Certification, Limitations, Discovery, Fair Labor Standards Act, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, RLUIPA, Alien Tort Claims Act, Immigration, Contractor Liability, Sovereign Immunity, Religious Diet, Denial of Religious Services

Aliens May Sue Private Detention Companies Under ATCA by A federal court in New Jersey became the first court to hold that corporations which operate privatized immigration detention facilities may be sued under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA). The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) contracted with Esmor Correctional Services, …

Former Federal Prisoner Complaint Barred Against Federal Agency

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Complaints, RLUIPA, Religious Diet, Religious Property

Former Federal Prisoner Complaint Barred Against Federal Agency by Former Federal prisoner Ben Siyon Ish Yerushalayim filed a Bivens complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1915 alleging violation of his rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA.) …

Four Year Statute of Limitations for All Post 1990 Federal Laws

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Limitations, Americans with Disabilities Act, All Writs Act, Federal Tort Claims Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, RICO, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Freedom of Information Act, 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title IX, Privacy Act, Voting Rights Act, Jury Service and Selection Act, Equal Access to Justice Act, Gender Motivated Violence Act, ERISA, American Indian Religious Freedom Act, Tax Injunction Act, Violence Against Women Act, RLUIPA, Public Health Services Act, False Claims Act, Fair Housing Act, Federal Housing Act, Title VII, Energy Conservation and Production Act, HIPAA, Lanham Trademark Act, National Environmental Policy Act, ADEA, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Alien Tort Claims Act, Alien Tort Statute (Federal), Torture Victims Act, Health Care Quality Improvement Act, Federal Extradition Act, Clean Water Act, USERRA

Four Year Statute of Limitations for All Post 1990 Federal Laws by In 1990, Congress passed a "catchall" four-year statute of limitations for actions arising under federal statutes enacted after December 1, 1990. This claim, which arose under the 1991 amendment to 42 U.S.C. § 1981, is governed by that …

RLUIPA and RFRA Substantial Burden Defined

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Federal Statutory Law, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, RLUIPA

RLUIPA and RFRA Substantial Burden Defined by RLUIPA and RFRA Substantial Burden Defined Substantial burden is a necessary element of claims under RLUIPA and RFRA; that term is "akin to significant pressure which directly coerces the religious adherent to conform his or her behavior accordingly. Thus, a substantial burden can …