In Firewalker-Fields v. Lee, (4th Cir., Jan. 17, 2023), the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a Muslim inmate's 1st Amendment Free Exercise claim. Plaintiff alleged that he did not have access in jail to Friday Islamic prayers. The court said in part:
Middle River had three rules in place that kept Firewalker-Fields from attending in-person Friday Prayer: no inmate led groups; no maximum-security prisoners allowed in any in-person groups; and prisoner services and classes by volunteer or donation only. Those rules are reasonably related to justifiable prison goals and therefore do not offend the Free Exercise Clause....
... [E]ach of Middle River’s policies is reasonably related to the legitimate penological purposes of security and resource-allocation; despite the jail’s policies, Firewalker-Fields still had other ways to practice his religion, even if they were not perfect; Firewalker-Fields’s preferred solutions would have impaired the jail’s safety and its efficient operation; and Firewalker-Fields failed to propose easy and obvious alternative policies that would have solved those issues while allowing more room for his religious practice. Taken together, this shows that each challenged policy is reasonably related to legitimate penological goals and are justifiable under Turner.
The court also vacated and remanded plaintiff's Establishment Clause challenge to the jail's broadcast of Christian services every Sunday on televisions throughout the facility. Noting the Supreme Court's recent repudiation of the Lemon test and adoption of a test based on historical practice and understanding, the court said in part:
The district court should have the initial responsibility of working through Firewalker-Fields’s Establishment Clause challenge under Kennedy.
