In a highly articulate 31-page opinion by Judge Gorsuch in
Yellowbear v. Lampert, (10th Cir., Jan. 23, 2014), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday reviewed each element of a
RLUIPA prisoner's rights claim and reversed the trial court's summary judgment against a Native American inmate. Here is the court's description of the case:
Andrew Yellowbear will probably spend the rest of his life in prison. Time he must serve for murdering his daughter. With that much lying behind and still before him, Mr. Yellowbear has found sustenance in his faith. No one doubts the sincerity of his religious beliefs....
That takes us to the nub of our case. Mr. Yellowbear, an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, seeks access to the prison’s existing sweat lodge to facilitate his religious exercises. The prison has refused. The prison’s sweat lodge is located in the general prison yard and Mr. Yellowbear is housed in a special protective unit (not because of any disciplinary infraction he has committed, but because of threats against him). Prison officials insist that the cost of providing the necessary security to take Mr. Yellowbear from the special protective unit to the sweat lodge and back is “unduly burdensome.” Mr. Yellowbear disagrees and seeks relief under RLUIPA. For its part, the district court discerned no statutory violation and entered summary judgment against Mr. Yellowbear. Mr. Yellowbear asks us to undo that judgment so that his case might proceed to trial.
At the end of the day, we find that’s exactly the relief we must provide.
AP reports on the decision.
