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Recent Prisoner Free Excercise Cases

By Howard M. Friedman

In Penwell v. Holtgeerts, (9th Cir., July 7, 2010), the 9th Circuit remanded to the district court a claim that restrictions on an inmate's religious practice burdened his free exercise rights. The 9th Circuit had announced a new standard for determining this issue in another case subsequent to the district court's decision.

In Lewis v. Ryan, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65258 (D AZ, June 9, 2010), an Arizona federal district court dismissed with leave to amend a prisoner's claim that his free exercise rights were violated when authorities denied his request for his retention funds to be used for a donation to a religious charity. He alleged his religion requires him to practice charity.

In Duran v. Patrick, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65616 (D MA, June 30, 2010), a Massachusetts federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65746, June 9, 2010) and dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies an inmate's claim that a corrections officer destroyed and disposed of his religious articles to prevent him from practicing his Islamic faith.

In Taylor v. Pelican Bay, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65996 (ND CA, July 1, 2010), a California federal district court rejected an inmate's claim that his free exercise rights were violated by a requirement that he identify his religion in order for the prison chaplain to verify his claim to need a religious diet. It also rejected his religious freedom claims based on occasional failures of his meal trays to include all items that should have been on the religious diet tray.

In Davis v. Flores, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66691 (ED CA, July 1, 2010), a California federal district court refused to grant summary judgment to an inmate who complained that his rights under the free exercise clause and RLUIPA were violated by restrictions for a period of time on Muslim prisoners purchasing or possessing prayer oil and by suspension of religious services after the dismissal of a chaplain who had smuggled in contraband in prayer oil containers.

In Castle v. Hedgpeth, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66514 (ED CA, June 30, 2010), a California federal magistrate judge recommended that an inmate be permitted to proceed with his challenge to enforcement of a prison regulation that prohibits Muslim inmates from purchasing or possessing prayer oil.

In Allen v. Jones, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67207 (WD LA, July 6, 2010), a Louisiana federal district judge adopted the recommendations of a magistrate (2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67247, May
7, 2010) and rejected plaintiff's claim that the Establishment Clause was violated by a policy that required inmates who left their cells during church call out to attend church services.

In Rider v. Yates, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67612 (ED CA, June 15, 2010), a California federal magistrate judge permitted an inmate to move ahead with his claim that prison officials took a chalice that he had on a pagan altar in his cell, depriving him of the property in violation of his rights under the 1st Amendment and RLUIPA.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on July 11, 2010 (boomark / email).