In a lengthy opinion after remand from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, in Lovelace v. Lee, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62522 (WD VA, Aug. 24, 2007), a Virginia federal district court rejected free exercise and RLUIPA challenges to the Ramadan observance policy of the Keen Mountain Correctional Center. The challenged policy removed prisoners from the Ramadan program if they were observed taking meals during Ramadan from the regular diet line at regular mealtimes. Originally those removed were also unable to participate in group religious services, but changes in policy cured that by scheduling weekly Nation of Islam services-- both live and by video-- so that they were available during Ramadan. The court called on prison authorities to submit evidence that due process concerns over proper identification of inmates removed from the Ramadan program had been met.
In Saif'ullah v. Padaoan, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62673 (ED CA, Aug. 24, 2007), a California federal Magistrate Judge recommended that plaintiff be permitted to move ahead with his claim that his free exercise rights were violated when rules regarding inmate work schedules were enforced to prevent plaintiff from attending Muslim religious services. However, the Magistrate Judge recommended summary judgment be granted for plaintiffs on claims regarding refusal to permit prayers in the day room prior to 5:30 a.m., and on disagreements regarding interpretation of Islamic religious doctrine.
In Bess v. Alameida, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63871 (ED CA, Aug. 29, 2007), a prisoner challenged prison rules restricting the amount of religious material that inmates of a California state prison could receive by mail. A California federal Magistrate Judge recommended that the claim for an injunction be dismissed because changes in regulations made the complaint moot, but that other free exercise, RLUIPA and equal protection claims be permitted to move ahead. The Magistrate Judge held that since the prison's policy applied only to religious publications, it was an impermissible content-based regulation.
In Auleta v. Goord, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63549 (ND NY, Aug. 28, 2007), a New York federal district judge found that a Wiccan prisoner failed to demonstrate that the exercise of his religion was substantially burdened by the denial of the tarot cards, a prohibition on in-cell burning, or alleged deficiencies in the holy day calendar.
