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Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

By Howard M. Friedman

In Chavis v. Goord, (2d Cir., June 25, 2009), the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed an inmate's claim that his free exercise rights were infringed when he was required to work on Sundays. The court found both a lack of exhaustion of administrative remedies and failure to allege any specific burden on religious beliefs.

In Rowe v. Bell, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52516 (ND IN, June 19, 2009), an Indiana federal district court refused to dismiss an inmate?s claim that practices which prevent him from attending or from viewing (on television) religious services, from fellowship with other inmates, and from regularly reading religious books violate RLUIPA.

In Bonnell v. Burnett, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27586 (ED MI, March 31, 2009), a Michigan federal district court concluded that a triable question of fact existed as to whether an inmate's professed need for a kosher diet was based on a sincerely held religious belief.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on June 28, 2009 (boomark / email).