Written by Don ByrdThe U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on the question of whether prison grooming policies of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, requiring inmates to shave, violate the religious freedom rights under the First Amendment or the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of prisoners whose religion forbids it. RLUIPA prohibits the state from substantially burdening an inmates’s religious exercise unless the burden is necessary to achieve a compelling government interest.
Written by Don ByrdInmates in an Alabama prison have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a policy that requires them to wear their hair short in violation of their Native American religious beliefs. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected their argument that the Department of Corrections policy runs afoul of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by failing to consider alternate means of achieving their security goals.
Written by Don ByrdControversies over mosque construction a couple of years ago were some of the ugliest religious liberty disputes of recent years. None was more troubling than the fight over the Islamic Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. There, arguments went so far afield that the US Attorney choose to step in and file a brief with the court explaining the government’s position that Islam is in fact a religion whose adherents are protected by the First Amendment.
Mosque opponents in Murfreesboro were unsuccessful in their bid to stop the Islamic Center, but they have not stopped pressing their case. Bob Allen of Associated Baptist Press reports on the latest development. The group has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court
Written by Don ByrdIn 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.
Written by Don ByrdLast week the ACLU sent a letter to the Wyoming Department of Corrections requesting they revise a policy that prohibits inmates from wearing a yarmulke outside their cell or in religious services. Under RLUIPA, such a rule may substantially burden an inmate’s religious exercise only if it is necessary to achieve a compelling government interest. Assuring that inmates are afforded basic religious accommodations, the ACLU writes, is exactly why RLUIPA was adopted.
