Two more prisoner free exercise cases have just been handed down.
In Meyer v. Teslik, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3003 (WD Wis., Jan. 26. 2006), a Wisconsin federal district court refused to grant summary judgment to defendant, a prison chaplain, in a case alleging denial of a Native American prisoner's right to attend group religious services. The court found that a dispute remained as to whether or not the omission of the inmate's name from the list of those authorized to attend services was intentional.
In Collins v. Alameida, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3258 (ED Cal., Jan. 30, 2006), a California federal district judge refused to grant summary judgment to Avenal State Prison officials in a case challenging prison grooming regulations under RLUIPA. Inmate Collins claimed that his Nazarite religious beliefs prevented him from cutting his hair. The court found that defendants had failed to prove that that the California Department of Corrections grooming standards are the least restrictive means of furthering their interest of maintaining institutional safety and security.
