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Summary Judgment Denied on New York Medical Isolation Conditions

Article • December 15, 2002 • from PLN December, 2002

Filed under: Religious Diet, Protective Custody

Summary Judgment Denied on New York Medical Isolation Conditions by A New York Federal District Court has denied summary judgment on claims that a prisoner's First Amendment right to free exercise of religion was violated by heightened restrictions in medical isolation and a denial of a vegetarian diet. As a …

Cotton v. FL DOC, FL, Motion to Dismis Opposition Credibility, Kosher Diet, 2002

Brief • November 22, 2002

Filed under: Religious Diet

Cotton v. FL DOC, FL, Motion to Dismis Opposition Credibility, Kosher Diet, 2002 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA Miami Division Case No.: 02-22760-CIV-Moore/O’Sullivan ALAN J. COTTON, Plaintiff, v. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS; et al., Defendants. PLAINTIFF’S OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS Plaintiff respectfully submits this memorandum …

Washington District Court Grants Preliminary Injunction for Kosher Meals

Article • October 15, 2002 • from PLN October, 2002

Filed under: Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet

Washington District Court Grants Preliminary Injunction for Kosher Meals by The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington has ordered a preliminary injunction (PI) granting a state prisoner kosher meals in accordance with tenets of Orthodox Judaism. Roland Pitre is a state prisoner at Airway Heights Correctional …

Motion Accepted as Appeal Notice; Damage Award Set Off Against Costs

Article • August 15, 2002 • from PLN August, 2002

Filed under: Damages, Settlements, Costs, Appeals, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet, Denial of Religious Services

Motion Accepted as Appeal Notice; Damage Award Set Off Against Costs by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a pro se motion must be accepted as a notice of appeal if it states the intent to appeal, and that a jury's damage award could be set off …

Religious Discrimination, Unsanitary Food Suit Denied Summary Judgment

Article • July 15, 2002 • from PLN July, 2002

Filed under: Food/Commissary (Private Prisons), Discrimination, Racial Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Food, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Qualified Immunity, Religious Diet

Religious Discrimination, Unsanitary Food Suit Denied Summary Judgment by The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has partly granted, and mostly denied, the defendants' motions for summary judgment on a District of Columbia (D.C.) prisoner's claims that he was racially discriminated against by the defendants' arbitrary handling …

Tenth Circuit Vacates Religious Diet Awards Under PLRA Physical Injury Rule

Article • June 15, 2002 • from PLN June, 2002

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, PLRA, Physical Injury Rule, Damages, Religious Diet

Tenth Circuit Vacates Religious Diet Awards Under PLRA Physical Injury Rule by by Matthew T. Clarke The Tenth Circuit held that the PLRA forbids recovery of compensatory damages for violations of the right to exercise a religious preference absent proof of physical injury. Jimmy Searles, a Kansas state prisoner, filed …

Intangible Religious Freedom Claims Not Barred by PLRA

Article • April 15, 2002 • from PLN April, 2002

Filed under: Retaliatory Transfers, Physical Injury Rule, Civil Procedure, State Law Claims, Mootness, Religious Diet, Religious Property

Intangible Religious Freedom Claims Not Barred by PLRA by John E Dannenberg Intangible Religious Freedom Claims Not Barred By PLRA by John E. Dannenberg The U.S. District Court (District of Massachusetts) held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act's (PLRA) proscription of claims for emotional damages, in the absence of physical …

En Banc Third Circuit Defines Religious Standard

Article • April 15, 2002 • from PLN April, 2002

Filed under: Food, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet, Religion Defined

En Banc Third Circuit Defines Religious Standard by by Matthew T. Clarke The federal Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit sitting en banc has ruled that the centrality of a religious belief to a prisoner's religion is not a factor in whether the belief must be accommodated by prison …

Use of Force, Religious Diet Claims Set for Trial

Article • December 15, 2001 • from PLN December, 2001

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Qualified Immunity, Censorship, Religious Diet

Use of Force, Religious Diet Claims Set for Trial by A New York prisoner's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lawsuit on First and Eighth Amendment violations survived three out of four summary judgment challenges by prison officials and moved closer to trial. On September 5, 1996, Abdul Majid, a prisoner at …

Denial of Religious Diet Violates First Amendment

Article • September 15, 2001 • from PLN September, 2001

Filed under: Religious Freedom, Religious Diet, Religion Defined, Sabbaths

Denial of Religious Diet Violates First Amendment by The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that prison officials' denial of a religious diet violated the First Amendment by substantially burdening a state prisoner's religious beliefs. Arkansas state prisoner Kelvin Love is a self-proclaimed adherent of the "Hebrew religion." …

Permanent Injunction Granted for Kosher Diets

Article • March 15, 2001 • from PLN March, 2001

Filed under: Food, Injunctions, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet

Permanent Injunction Granted for Kosher Diets by The Colorado Federal District Court granted a permanent injunction against the Department of Corrections (CDOC) finding the CDOC in violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment for failing to provide Colorado Prisoners with a kosher diet. As reported in the …

$78,000 Damages and Fees Awarded in KS Kosher Diet Suit

Article • November 15, 2000 • from PLN November, 2000

Filed under: PLRA, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Damages, Costs, Qualified Immunity, Religious Diet

$78,000 Damages and Fees Awarded in KS Kosher Diet Suit by A federal district court in Kansas awarded a prisoner $30,622 in attorneys' fees and $1,200 in costs and expenses. The court held, however, that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), required the court to apply 25 percent of plaintiff's …

No Immunity in Denying Kosher Diet

Article • October 15, 2000 • from PLN October, 2000

Filed under: Food, Qualified Immunity, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet

No Immunity in Denying Kosher Diet by The court of appeals for the Second Circuit held that fact issues requiring a trial were present in a Jewish prisoner's lawsuit over the denial of a kosher diet. The court also held prison officials were not entitled to qualified immunity from money …

Retaliation Claim Remanded for Hearing on Qualified Immunity

Article • July 15, 2000 • from PLN July, 2000

Filed under: Retaliation for Litigating, Exercise, Court Access, Court Appearances, Appeals, Witnesses, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Qualified Immunity, Religious Diet

Retaliation Claim Remanded for Hearing on Qualified Immunity by Ronald Young Retaliation Claim Remanded For Hearing On Qualified Immunity By Ronald Young The court of appeals for the Second circuit held that a district court's denial of summary judgement to prison guards on grounds of qualified immunity required remand to …

Tenth Circuit Holds Prison Officials Liable for Failing to Provide Religious Meals

Article • April 15, 2000 • from PLN April, 2000

Filed under: Food, Civil Procedure, Damages, Defenses, Magistrates, Qualified Immunity, Supervisory Liability, Religious Diet, Religious Practices

Tenth Circuit Holds Prison Officials Liable for Failing to Provide Religious Meals by Tenth Circuit Holds Prison Officials Liable For Failing To Provide Religious Meals The Tenth Circuit court of ap- peals has held that prison officials unconstitutionally interfered with a punitive segregation prisoner's exercise of religion when they failed …

Arizona DOC Settles Kosher Diet Suit

Article • September 15, 1999 • from PLN September, 1999

Filed under: Food, Settlements, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet

Arizona DOC Settles Kosher Diet Suit by On January 29, 1999, the Arizona Department of Corrections settled a lawsuit involving a Jewish prisoner's right to a kosher diet. Kenneth Ashelman, an orthodox Jewish prisoner, filed suit when the DOC refused to provide him with a kosher diet. The suit was …

First Amendment Guarantees Kosher Meals

Article • August 15, 1999 • from PLN August, 1999

Filed under: Food, Injunctions (PLRA), Civil Procedure, State Law Claims, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Religious Diet

First Amendment Guarantees Kosher Meals by The court of appeals for the Third 1 Circuit held that under the First Amendment, prison officials must provide Jewish prisoners with a diet sufficient to sustain them in good health without violating kosher laws. However, the food need not be hot, nor even …

Preliminary Injunction Granted in Kosher Diet Claim

Article • December 15, 1998 • from PLN December, 1998

Filed under: Food, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet

Preliminary Injunction Granted in Kosher Diet Claim by Prisons must provide a diet which conforms to prisoners' sincerely held religious beliefs according to a federal court in Colorado. Charles Beerheide, Sheldon Perlman, and Allen Fistell, Colorado state prisoners who are Orthodox Jews, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging …

Trial Required in Kosher Diet Claim

Article • November 15, 1998 • from PLN November, 1998

Filed under: Food, Qualified Immunity, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet

Trial Required in Kosher Diet Claim by Afederal district court in Kansas held that a trial was required to resolve disputed issues of material fact in a Jewish prisoner's lawsuit over the denial of a Kosher diet. Jimmy Searles is a Kansas state prisoner. While housed at the Hutchinson Correctional …

PLRA Finding Required for Injunctive Relief

Article • August 15, 1998 • from PLN August, 1998

Filed under: Food, PLRA, Injunctions (PLRA), Summary Judgment, Religious Diet

PLRA Finding Required for Injunctive Relief by The court of appeals for the Ninth circuit held that district courts must make specific findings under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) before granting prospective relief regarding prison conditions and this requirement applied retroactively to cases pending at the time of the …