Written by Don Byrd
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday overturned the dismissal of a Florida prisoner’s lawsuit demanding kosher meal options. Florida’s Department of Corrections announced a policy change that would allow for such meals, but the appeals panel ordered the hearing to proceed because nothing prevented the state from undoing that change.
Bruce Rich cites the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) in his case against the state. RLUIPA prevents the state from substantially burdening an inmate’s religious exercise unless there is a compelling government interest and the policy is narrowly tailored to meet that objective. Here, Florida claims that safety and cost concerns justify the prior refusal to provide kosher meal options, but the court found the safety concerns raised by the state to be “speculative,” and the cost claims to be “unsupported by the record.” Those are questions of fact, the panel ruled, for the trial court to determine.
You can read the 11th Circuit’s decision here. A Miami Herald story is here.
