Written by Don Byrd
In December, a federal court in Florida issued an injunction requiring the state’s Department of Corrections to begin providing kosher meals (again) to inmates whose sincere religious beliefs require them. The court rejected the state’s contention that avoiding the higher cost of kosher meals is a “compelling government interest” that overcomes the requirement that inmates’ religious needs should be accommodated.
The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) places a purposefully high standard on government to deny an inmate’s religious exercise. Courts have routinely held that avoiding increased costs in not in itself a compelling interest that meets that high standard. Nonetheless, Florida maintains the high price of kosher meals is too great a burden.
The NYTimes profiles the issue on the front page today.
Kosher food in prisons has long served as fodder for lawsuits around the country, with most courts coming down firmly on the side of inmates. As long as inmates say they hold a sincere belief in Judaism — a deeply forgiving standard — they are entitled to kosher meals, even if it takes a little chutzpah to make the request.
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Prison officials began to fret that… the cost of the kosher program could reach $54.1 million statewide. “You are talking about a lot of money,” Mr. Crews said.But lawyers and chaplains said prison officials were inflating the numbers as a scare tactic, a common move in some states. “They are trying to make the problem bigger than it is,” Mr. Rassbach said.
Read the whole thing.
