A Georgia federal district court has avoided deciding an intriguing constitutional challenge to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. In Williams v. Georgia, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80852 (SD GA, Nov. 6, 2006), a federal judge accepted in full a Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84023 (SD GA, Oct. 10, 2006), denying prison officials' motion to dismiss a RLUIPA claim against them. The prisoner's substantive complaints were fairly routine-- the prison's refusal to furnish him a pork-free diet and the requirement that he shave his head and beard violate his right to practice his religious beliefs. The unusual part of the case was the defense raised by prison officials to the portion of the suit brought against them in their individual capacities.
The defendants argued that the constitutional basis for RLUIPA is Congress' spending clause power, and the individual officials are not part of the contract for spending between the Department of Corrections and the federal government. However the court held that since plaintiff's claims are only against the individual defendants in their official capacities, it is unnecessary for the court to decide the more difficult question of whether RLUIPA authorizes suit against government officials in their individual capacities. (See prior related posting.)
