Prisoner Claim Raises Holiday Decoration Issue In New Context

An obscure prisoner case has raised the issue of holiday decorations in a new context. In Spence v. Federal Correctional Institute, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75398 (WD LA, Oct. 9, 2007), affirming Magistrate's recommendation and report, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77617 (WD LA, Sept. 12, 2007), a prisoner claimed that his free exercise rights had been violated when an officer at a federal correctional facility in Pennsylvania ordered him to assist with installation of a Santa Clause and reindeer being put up in the prison as holiday decorations. Eugene Spence said that assisting was in conflict with his beliefs as a Muslim and requested another job assignment. However prison authorities refused, saying that the decorations were non-denominational. In this decision, the court merely transferred the case from Louisiana to a Pennsylvania federal court, thus temporarily avoiding the merits of the claim.