The Oregon federal district court has recently released its opinion in Alvarez v. Hill, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40494 (D. Ore., Dec. 14, 2005). It granted summary judgment to defendants, finding that restrictions placed on a Native American prisoner at Oregon's Snake River Correctional Institution did not substantially burden his exercise of religion. Plaintiff had challenged prison regulations relating to religious volunteers, the frequency with which inmates were allowed to attend the sweat lodge, drum ceremonies, and the restrictions on wearing headbands.
In Young v. Medden, (ED Pa., Feb. 23, 2006), a wide-ranging lawsuit against prison officials, a Pennsylvania federal district court permitted a prisoner to proceed with various claims alleging violation of his free exercise rights and of RLUIPA. Willie Young, a believer in African Traditional Spirituality claimed that officials at two different prisons interfered with his ability to practice his religion.
In McElyea v. Schriro, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6765 (D. Ariz., Feb. 13, 2006), an Arizona federal district court judge dismissed a Jewish prisoner's religious exercise claims, finding that the prisoner's "multiple frivolous motions and filings are malicious and vexatious and based on complaints which are designed to harass and antagonize the Defendants". His complaints centered primarily on his ability to observe certain rules regarding the Sabbath and kosher food, and on his objection to the prison's permitting persons to attend Jewish services who are not Jewish according to Orthodox Jewish religious law.
