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Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

By Howard M. Friedman

In Seymore v. Joslyn, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32545 (ND NY, April 14, 2009), a New York federal district judge rejected a prisoner's claim that a corrections officer retaliated against him for being a Muslim by suggesting that plaintiff fantasizes about having a homosexual relationship with a male corrections employee.

In Eagle v. Gilbert, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32976 (ED MI, April 17, 2009), a Michigan federal district court accepted a magistrate's recommendation that an inmate's lawsuit alleging he was prevented from attending Sunday religious services in prison be dismissed. The magistrate's conclusion was based on plaintiff's failure to exhaust administrative remedies in complaining that he was assigned to a Sunday morning work detail that interfered with Protestant services.

In Wakefield v. Indermill, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32909 (ED CA, April 6, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed, with leave to file an amended complaint, a lawsuit brought by a Seventh Day Adventist inmate against a Protestant prison chaplain. The court said plaintiff had not adequately alleged that defendant's refusal to provide him with weekly holy communion and foot washing deprived him of a reasonable opportunity to practice his faith or substantially burdened his free exercise.

In Mello v. Martinez, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32878 (ED CA, April 6, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge permitted an inmate to proceed with his free exercise and RLUIPA claims. Plaintiff alleged that two corrections officers destroyed his religious artifacts that are essential to most of his Native American religious ceremonies.

In Zargary v. City of New York, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33240 (SD NY, April 20, 2009), a New York federal district court rejected a free exercise claim by an Orthodox Jewish woman who objected to being required to briefly remove her headscarf, worn for religious reasons, while her identification photo was taken upon admission to a state correctional facility.

In Kuperman v. Comm'r, New Hampshire Dept. of Corrections, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33701(D NH, April 20, 2009), a New Hampshire federal district court accepted a magistrate's recommendation (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33702 (April 7, 2009)) to permit an Orthodox Jewish inmate to proceed with his free exercise, RLUIPA and equal protection claims. At issue was the decision of prison authorities to deny plaintiff a waiver to grow his beard for religious reasons longer than one-quarter inch. However claims against certain of the defendants were dismissed.

In Nyholm v. Pryce, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34223 (D NJ, April 20, 2009), a New Jersey federal district court permitted an inmate to move ahead with his claim that his free exercise rights were infringed when he was prohibited from attending religious services during his confinement in administrative segregation.

In Scott v. Tilton, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34533 (ED CA, April 7, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed with leave to file an amended complaint an inmate's claim that prison authorities destroyed or donated four religious cassettes that were sent to him, instead of allowing him to retrieve them.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on April 26, 2009 (boomark / email).