Sunday, August 01, 2021

9th Circuit: Arizona Prison Rules Did Not Substantially Burden Inmate's Religious Exercise

 In Yokois v. Ryan, (9th Cir., July 30, 2021), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of an Arizona inmate's 1st Amendment and RLUIPA claims. The court said in part:

ADC’s policy requiring inmates to go through authorized vendors to purchase religious items was at most, an inconvenience, and not a substantial burden on Yokois’ ability to acquire religious items. Similarly, ... the ADC policy in question only prevented Yokois from pinning religious materials on his bulletin board while he was outside his cell and not using them. As a result, Yokois did not show that these policies so burdened his right to exercise his religion that he felt pressured to abandon his beliefs.