Waldvogel sent his message in reply to one he received from the Superintendent's secretary regarding the school calendar. Apparently he hit "reply to all" without realizing how broadly his e-mail would be circulated. At any rate, on Tuesday the Freedom from Religion Foundation wrote the school district (full text of letter) complaining about the Board's action and asking it to dissociate itself from Waldvogel's remarks. It says the change to "Christmas Break" unconstitutionally advances Christianity over other religions. Yesterday's National Examiner and today's Michigan Messenger report on the controversy.We are in spite of what the Obamessiah says, STILL a Christian nation, founded on Judeo Christian principles.... [E]ither agree to change the "December vacation" back to "Christmas break" in all future publications (including the school calendar) voluntarily, or I will make a motion to change it at the next board meeting and raise such a stink, and bring out every redneck Christian conservative north of Clare to compel the district to do so....
Let the Ramadamians and the Kwanzanians bring their celebrations to school too .... to share with our Christian children, but don't cut God out of the school completely.... Don't assume this is a joke, I'm being as serious as I possibly can here."
Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Michigan School Board Reinstitutes "Christmas Break"
EEOC Sues Company That Refused Alternative Drug Test For Employee
Justice Ginsburg Denies Petition For Stay By Bridgeport Catholic Diocese
UPDATE: AP reports that on Friday, the Bridgeport Diocese submitted its request for a stay to Justice Antonin Scalia, hoping he will rule differently than did Justice Ginsburg. (Docket entry.) Supreme Court Rule 22 permits an application denied by the Justice assigned to the Circuit where the case arose to be refiled with any other justice. David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, complained: "The appeal to the court's most stridently Catholic member, whose son is a priest, smacks of desperation and favoritism."
Malaysia Bars Muslims From Attending Concert Sponsored By Guinness
Collateral Defendants Settle In Suit Claiming Religion In Class of Ohio Science Teacher
Under the settlement, negotiated by the Board's insurance carrier, the other defendants agreed to pay $115,500 for plaintiffs' legal fees, and damages of $5,500 to one plaintiff, along with nominal damages of $1 each to two others. The settlement also bars staff from discussing the case with students. It calls for training in church-state issues for board members, administrators and teachers. This has already been done. Finally the school board is to make a public statement at the conclusion of the pending administrative hearing on whether Freshwater should be fired. (See prior posting.) The settlement must be approved and approved by the Probate Court of Knox County before a motion to dismiss is filed in federal court. the National Center for Science Education also has a report on developments in the case.
Court Says There Was No Discrimination Against Muslim School Employee
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Court Preliminarily Enjoins Enforcement of Illinois Pharmacy Board Rule
New York Releases 2008 Hate Crime Statistics
Court Says No Establishment Clause Violation By Orthodox Jewish School Board Majority
Plaintiffs’ contend, the Defendants’plan to sell a school and keep taxes low somehow establishes Orthodox Judaism as Lawrence’s official religion. This argument is completely frivolous....Yesterday, both Newsday and Long Island's Jewish Star reported on the decision. [Thanks to both Benjamin Wolf and Joel Katz (Relig. & State in Israel) for leads.]
Plaintiffs essentially complain about low taxes, alleging that these low taxes enable Orthodox Jews residing in Lawrence to afford parochial schools. But if, as in Mueller, tax deductions targeted at private education survive Constitutional muster, then untargeted lower taxes – which help individuals afford everything from parochial education to groceries to vacations – obviously must.....
[U]nder Plaintiffs' reasoning, no claim would lie against political conservatives who ideologically disfavor spending on public schools, or retirees who have no children in the public school system and want lower taxes to boost their discretionary income. Rather, Plaintiffs believe that the School Board’s actions are problematic entirely because the School Board members are Orthodox Jews who are motivated, in part, to help other Orthodox Jews pay yeshiva tuition by lowering their tax burden. In short, Plaintiffs seek to deny Orthodox Jews political rights possessed by every other group in the United States: the right to mobilize in support of religiously neutral government policies, and then have those policies enacted through normal democratic processes. And Plaintiffs seek to do so because, Plaintiffs allege, the School Board's religiously neutral government actions are motivated by the Jewish faith, instead of anti-tax sentiment generally.
Plaintiffs thus ask this Court to discriminate against Orthodox Jews by finding that lower taxes and smaller government are unconstitutional because many of the tax cut’s beneficiaries would choose to allocate their tax savings to Jewish education rather than secular pursuits. But if the First Amendment means anything, it is that the Government cannot prohibit individuals from spending their own money to fulfill the obligations of their religious faith.
Bangladesh Court Orders Police To Investigate Fatwa and Village Arbitration
Florida Standardized Test Dates Conflict With Holidays In 2011
TRO Lets Parochial School Musician Into Public School Band
Kentucky's Required Display of Findings On God Violate Establishment Clause
The nature of this statute is much more than an acknowledgement that people have historically looked to God for protection. The statute pronounces very plainly that current citizens of the Commonwealth cannot be safe, neither now nor in the future, without the aid of Almighty God.... Effectively the General Assembly has created an official government position on God.McClatchy Newspapers and the Louisville Courier Journal reported on the decision, as did a release from American Atheists.
UPDATE: The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that on Sept. 4 the state filed a notice of appeal in the case as well as a motion to stay enforcement of the trial court's ruling pending appeal.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sen. Ted Kennedy Dies; Remembering His Views On Religion In Public Life
[Thanks to Blog from the Capitol for a link to the speech.]I am an American and a Catholic; I love my country and treasure my faith. But I do not assume that my conception of patriotism or policy is invariably correct, or that my convictions about religion should command any greater respect than any other faith in this pluralistic society. I believe there surely is such a thing as truth, but who among us can claim a monopoly on it? There are those who do, and their own words testify to their intolerance....
But in saying that, we cannot and should not turn aside from a deeper and more pressing question -- which is whether and how religion should influence government.... The separation of church and state can sometimes be frustrating for women and men of religious faith. They may be tempted to misuse government in order to impose a value which they cannot persuade others to accept. But once we succumb to that temptation, we step onto a slippery slope where everyone’s freedom is at risk. Those who favor censorship should recall that one of the first books ever burned was the first English translation of the Bible.....
The real transgression occurs when religion wants government to tell citizens how to live uniquely personal parts of their lives.... But there are other questions which are inherently public in nature, which we must decide together as a nation, and where religion and religious values can and should speak to our common conscience..... There must be standards for the exercise of such leadership, so that the obligations of belief will not be debased into an opportunity for mere political advantage. But to take a stand at all when a question is both properly public and truly moral is to stand in a long and honored tradition.....
First, we must respect the integrity of religion itself. People of conscience should be careful how they deal in the word of their Lord. In our own history, religion has been falsely invoked to sanction prejudice -- even slavery -- to condemn labor unions and public spending for the poor.....Religious values cannot be excluded from every public issue; but not every public issue involves religious values.... Second, we must respect the independent judgments of conscience. Those who proclaim moral and religious values can offer counsel, but they should not casually treat a position on a public issue as a test of fealty to faith.... Third, in applying religious values, we must respect the integrity of public debate. In that debate, faith is no substitute for facts..... Fourth, and finally, we must respect the motives of those who exercise their right to disagree.....
In short, I hope for an America where neither "fundamentalist" nor "humanist" will be a dirty word, but a fair description of the different ways in which people of goodwill look at life and into their own souls.
3rd Circuit Dismisses Abortion Protesters' Bid To Stand On Handicapped Ramp
Catholic Magazine Publishes Reflections On the Obama-Notre Dame Controversy
The diocesan bishop must ask whether a Catholic institution compromises its obligation to give public witness by placing prestige over truth. The bishop must be concerned that Catholic institutions do not succumb to the secular culture, making decisions that appear to many, including ordinary Catholics, as a surrender to a culture opposed to the truth about life and love.The second article, from John R. Quinn, archbishop emeritus of San Francisco, takes a different tack. He argues that a strategy of refusing to award an honorary degree to the President "undermines the church's transcendent role in the American political order." He continues:
[T]he Obama controversy, in concert with a series of candidate-related condemnations during the 2008 election, has communicated several false and unintended messages to much of American society..... 1. The message that the Catholic bishops of the United States function as partisan political actors in American life. ...2. The message that the bishops are ratifying the "culture war mentality," which corrodes debate both in American politics and in the internal life of the church.... 3. The message that the bishops are effectively indifferent to all grave evils other than abortion.... 4. The message that the bishops are insensitive to the heritage and the continuing existence of racism in America.[Thanks to Mirror of Justice for the lead.]
Washington State Bans All Holiday Displays Inside Capitol Building
Q: Will you allow displays and exhibits?[Thanks to Blog from the Capitol for the lead.]
The interim policy does not allow the public to place displays and exhibits in the public areas of the capitol buildings, regardless of content. However, subject to reasonable time, place and manner restrictions, you may be permitted to place displays outside on the capitol grounds.
Q: Will you permit a Nativity scene in the Legislative Building during the holiday season?
No. General Administration has turned down a request for a Nativity display inside the Legislative Building for December 2009.
Q: Will you permit an atheist display in the Legislative Building during the holiday
season?
No. General Administration has turned down a request for an atheist display inside the Legislative Building for December 2009.
Q: Will there be a holiday tree at the Legislative Building this year?
Yes. The holiday tree will continue as a General Administration activity.
Mosques Will Aid Malaysian State Officials In Syariah Enforcement
Suit Will Charge Judge With Improperly Requiring Removal of Hijab
Paper Surveys Scope of Tax Exemptions for Church Property
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Florida Governor's Western Wall Notes Seem To Work So Far
Some Claims Against Archdiocese In Clergy Abuse Case Can Proceed
UPDATE: The court has issued an almost identical opinion in a similar abuse case brought by a different plaintiff. Perry v. Johnston, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74706 (ED MO, Aug. 24, 2009).
Some Claims Dismissed In Sikh's Employment Discrimination Case Against IRS
Utah Judge Orders Sale of Supposed Temple Site By FLDS Trust
Monday, August 24, 2009
School Girls In Gaza Must Wear Traditional Arab Dress
Wisconsin Bishops Object To State's Mandate of Contraceptive Coverage In Health Policies
Recent Articles and Books of Interest
- Ayelet Shachar & Ran Hirschl, The New Wall of Separation: Permitting Diversity, Restricting Competition, (Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 30, pp. 2535-2560, 2009).
- Andrew F. March, Islamic Legal Theory, Secularism and Religious Pluralism: Is Modern Religious Freedom Sufficient for the Shari'a 'Purpose [Maqsid]' of 'Preserving Religion [Hifz Al-Din]?', (August 14, 2009).
- Mohammad Fadel, Islamic Politics and Secular Politics: Can They Co-Exist?, (Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 25, No. 1, 2009).
- Martha Albertson Fineman, Religious Resistance to Family Law Reform in the US, (Emory Law Public Law Journal, Forthcoming).
- Andrew F. March, Taking People as They are: Islam as a 'Realistic Utopia' in the Political Theory of Sayyid Qutb, (APSA 2009 Toronto Meeting Paper).
From SmartCILP:
- Matthew R. Clark & Charles P. Misseijer, Through the Founders' Prism: Faith and Perspective at the Intersection of Law and Policy, 1 Regent Journal of Law & Public Policy 1-10 (2009).
- Jay A. Sekulow & Benjamin P. Sisney. Constitutionally Protected Parental Rights in Child-Custody Arrangements and the Impact of Religion on Children, 1 Regent Journal of Law & Public Policy 169-214 (2009).
Recent Books:
- Meera Nanda, The God Market: How Globalisation Is Making India Hindu, (Random House India, Aug. 2009), reviewed in LiveMint.
- John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World, (Penguin, April 2009), reviewed in Foreign Affairs.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
10th Circuit Refuses To Stay Order On 10 Commandments Monument
Meanwhile News OK reported on Friday that in Oklahoma City, the State Capitol Preservation Commission is debating where on the state Capitol gounds to locate a 10 Commandments monument authorized by legislation passed earlier this year. (See prior posting.)
Report Says Shiites On Trial In Jordan
Court Hears Arguments In Challenge To State Humane Slaughter Act
Philippine Presidential Race Draws Religious Leaders As Candidates
Satmar Police Recruit Files Religious Discrimination Complaint
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In King v. Sims, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71669 (SD MS, Aug. 14, 2009), a Mississippi federal magistrate judge rejected a challenge by a Rastafarian prisoner to the state's grooming policy that prevented him from wearing his hair in dreadlocks.
In Carson v. Riley, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73328 (WD MI, Aug. 19, 2009), a Michigan federal district court upheld a prison's denial of a strictly vegetarian Buddhist diet to an inmate after he displayed only minimal knowledge about Buddhism and its dietary requirements in an interview by the prison chaplain. Subsequently plaintiff was transferred to another facility where a vegetarian diet was more available.
In Nieves v. Patrick, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73492 (ED CA, Aug. 19, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge recommended dismissal of a generalized allegation by an inmate that religion was not allowed into her prison unit.
In Mincy v. Deparlos, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73604 (MD PA, Aug. 19, 2009), a Pennsylvania federal district court allowed plaintiff to move ahead with his free exercise and RLUIPA claims that various actions by prison officials denied him the ability to observe Ramadan.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Michigan Amends Faith Based Office's Charter To Reflect Federal Changes
3. Ensure that services paid for with state and federal funds are provided in a manner consistent with fundamental constitutional commitments guaranteeing the equal protection of the laws and the free exercise of religion and prohibiting laws respecting an establishment of religion.
4. Promote effective training for persons providing federally funded social services in faith-based and neighborhood organizations.
5. Promote the better use of program evaluation and research, in order to ensure that organizations deliver services as specified in grant agreements, contracts, memoranda or understanding, and other arrangements.
College In India Illegally Bans Hijab Under Hindu Student Pressure
Bolivia-Vatican Sign Treaty On Social Services
Foster Care Extended For 17-Year Old Muslim Convert To Christianity
Rifqa's parents, who originally came to the U.S. from Sri Lanka to seek medical care for Rifqa after she lost sight in one eye, say Rifqa is free to practice any religion she wishes. They have agreed that if she is returned to Ohio she can be placed in a foster home there for at least 30 days. Meanwhile activists and politicians are getting involved, calling on Gov. Charlie Crist to take action to keep the girl in Florida. Rifqa's lawyer, John Stemberger (who is a conservative Christian activist) told the court that the real threat is not Rifqa's father, but radical Muslim activists in the Columbus area.
Santa Rosa School Clerk Cleared On Civil Contempt Charge Over Banquet Prayer
Malaysian Woman Sentenced To Caning; Syariah Judge Says Sentence Is Illegal
UPDATE: On Monday, government authorities released Kartika Shukarno, saying: "The warrant cannot be executed." Reuters reports that Kartika refused to leave a van taking her to jail when it returned her to her home.
UPDATE2: Monday's New York Times quotes Mohamed Sahfri Abdul Aziz, the head of religious affairs in Malaysia's Pahang state, who said: "The sentence remains. She has been released but only temporarily."
UPDATE3: France24 reported on Aug. 24 that the original delay in Katrika's punishment was in honor of Ramadan. Now, however, the chief appeals judge for the Islamic courts in the state of Pahangan has ordered further delay while the sentence is reviewed on appeal.
Friday, August 21, 2009
President Sends Greetings To Muslims As Ramadan Begins
Canadian Court Affirms Abortion Opponent's Tax Protest Conviction
The filing of annual income tax returns, like the payment of taxes, cannot reasonably be regarded as an expression of support for a particular government expenditure or policy so as to offend a claimant's Charter right to freedom of religion and conscience. Nor can it be characterized as coercion of the kind embraced by the concept of freedom of religion and conscience. A pacifist who resists compulsory military service may object on grounds that military service is contrary to his or her religious beliefs or objectionable as a matter of principle and conscience. Most certainly, forced participation in these circumstances triggers the application of s. 2(a) of the Charter. But the same pacifist cannot invoke that Charter provision as a valid basis for the refusal to file annual income tax returns and to pay taxes duly assessed. The same reasoning applies to those who object to public funding of abortions through the taxation system. The coercion of which Mr. Little complains is simply too remote to invoke his s. 2(a) Charter rights. Any perceived interference with his religious beliefs cannot be regarded as "substantial" within the meaning of the jurisprudence.The Fredericton (NB) Daily Gleaner reports on the decision.
Ramadan Begins With UAE Seeking To Keep Prices In Check; Others Viewing Economy's Impact
Condo Residents Get Shabbat Elevator, Ending Discrimination Complaints
Utah and Arizona Issue Updated Guide On Polygamous Communities
2nd Circuit Narrows Remedy Against Postal Unit Operating On Church Premises
The court also attempted to limit its decision to the facts of the case, saying that plaitiff's complaint was that he became an unwilling participant in religious activity when he entered the postal facility. It went on: "Ordinarily, when CPUs are housed in churches or synagogues or monasteries or mosques, customers are alerted to the facility’s religious status by cues such as ecclesiastical architecture, schedules of religious services, and religious iconography or statuary." Here however a customer might become confused because the store front "gives no visual cues to alert its customers to its function as a Christian outreach facility." AP yesterday reported on the decision.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Driver Refuses To Operate Bus Carrying Atheist Ad
Muslim Charity's Rights Violated In Freezing of Assets
The court also concluded that OFAC acted arbitrarily in blocking access by the charity to use of its own funds to pay its attorneys. The government is investigating whether the charity should be classified as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist" organization because of alleged contribution of funds to Hamas. The court concluded that OFAC's provisional determination to classify the group as an SDGT is not final and thus not subject to review. Yesterday's New York Times reported on the decision. The Council on American-Islamic relations issued a press release calling the decision "a victory for all Americans who value the constitutional rights to due process and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure."
Louisiana Parish School Board Expands Invocation Invitee List
Advocacy Groups Caution Illinois On Grants To Religious Organizations
Settlement Reached In New Haven Street Preacher Case
Obama On Conference Calls With Faith Groups On Health Care
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
New Venezuela Education Law Eliminates Religious Education In Schools
Oklahoma Court's Ruling Apparently Invalidates Medical Providers Conscience Provisions
AP reports that yesterday an Oklahoma County District Court struck down the law without getting to the primary constitutional issues. The court instead held that the statute violates the requirement in Sec. V-57 of the Oklahoma Constitution that any state statute deal only with a single subject. The effect of that holding, while opening the way to re-enactment of all the law's provisions in separate bills, also would seem to invalidate until re-enactment the freedom of conscience provisions that apparently had not been challenged by plaintiff.
UPDATE: Wednesdy's New York Times reports that the state will appeal the decusion to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
Egypt's Mubarak Visits White House; Advocates Want Obama To Raise Human Rights Issues
At the White House press briefing yesterday, press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked whether Obama raised human rights issues with Mubarak:
Q: Back to Mubarak. Can you say how the President raised the issue of human rights and political reform in Egypt during the talks?
MR. GIBBS: Let me get a specific read. I did not talk to Denis and those guys before I -- about the other topics that were talked about.
Q: Well, generally, do you think it's fair that there's a perception among some dissidents and human rights groups that this administration has downplayed that side of the relationship in pursuit of broader issues?
MR. GIBBS: I would not -- I would not agree with the premise that we have somehow swept under the rug, in either this relationship or in relationships with other countries, the notion of human rights or greater democracy in the world. Obviously those are important foreign policy goals that are in the national interest of this country. And we will continue to pursue those, as well as issues relating to comprehensive Middle East peace.
Sex Offender Challenging NC Law Barring Church Attendance Near Child-Care
A coalition of psychologists and social workers are supporting a bill in the North Carolina legislature that would allow sex offenders to attend adult programs at churches if they have written permission from church leaders. Many think churches can play an important role in rehabilitating sex offenders. However Sen. David Hoyle who sponsored the existing sex offender law says: "As far as I'm concerned, they've lost all their rights -- to go to church ... to go to McDonald's to get a cheeseburger if they've got the slides."
Group Opens San Francisco Office, Calling Area Hostile To Religious Liberty
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
2010 Census Again Will Not Count Overseas Mormon Missionaries
US Catholic Bishiops Unveil Health Care Reform Website; Oppose Abortion Coverage
Sri Lanka Proposes Ban On Religious-Themed Political Parties
Salvation Army Drug Treatment Employee Is Not State Actor
Tensions Increase This Summer In Catskills Between Hasidim and Locals
Pagan Group's Right To Use Park For Ceremony Is Questioned
Appeal Filed In Challenge To Texas Agency's Neutrality on Creationism
Monday, August 17, 2009
Idaho Charter School Barred From Using Bible As Textbook
Nigerian Police Remove Muslim Sect Members From Compound
Recent Articles of Interest
- Steven Douglas Smith, The Establishment Clause and the 'Problem of the Church', (San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 09-024, Aug. 5, 2009).
- Roberta F. Mann, Is Sharif's Castle Deductible?: Islam and the Tax Treatment of Mortgage Debt, (William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, Vol. 17, pp. 1139-1169, 2009).
- Lauren E. Schroeder, The Rights of Muslim Women in the Middle East: A Pathfinder, (Islamic Law and Law of the Muslim World Paper No. 09-68, May 18, 2009).
- Aminu Adamu Bello, Binding Precedent and Shari'a/Islamic Law in Nigeria: An Attempt at a Civil-Criminal Distinction, (Islamic Law and Law of the Muslim World Paper No. 09-67, May 1, 2009).
- Paul Finkelman, School Vouchers, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Williams, and Protecting the Faithful: Warnings from the Eighteenth Century and the Seventeenth Century on the Danger of Establishments to Religious Communities, (2008 Brigham Young University Law Review 525).
- Michael J. Perry, Religious Freedom and Beyond: The Right to Moral Freedom, (Emory Public Law Research Paper No. 09-60, Aug. 10, 2009).
- Shelley Ross Saxer, Assessing RLUIPA's Application to Building Codes and Aesthetic Land Use Regulation, (Albany Government Law Review, Vol. 2, 2009).
- Robert J. Yetman & Michelle Yetman, Does the Incentive Effect of the Charitable Deduction Vary Across Charities?, (July 22, 2009).
- AALS Symposium on Institutional Pluralism: The Role of Religiously Affiliated Law Schools, 59 Journal of Legal Education 125-168 (2009).
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Cape Cod Town Allows Prayer Station At Beach Parking Lot
Numerous New Prisoner Free Exercise Cases Have Become Available This Week
Shariff v. Coombe, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69119 (SD NY, Aug. 7, 2009), is a case challenging various prison conditions impairing accessibility of disabled inmates in wheelchairs. Among the claims was one that plaintiffs' free exercise rights were infringed because of difficulties they encountered in using restrooms while attending religious services. The New York federal district court said it doubted that the claim would survive summary judgment, but ordered plaintiffs to brief the issue first.
In Littlejohn v. New York City Department of Corrections, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69347 (SD NY, Aug. 7, 2009), a New York federal district court rejected plaintiff's free exercise challenge to restrictions on his attending religious services while in closed custody/ protective custody. It concluded that the detention center's policy allowing inmates in this situation to be visited twice per week by clergy was sufficient.
In Benson v. Corrections Corporation of America, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69336 (ND OH, July 14, 2009), an Ohio federal magistrate judge recommended dismissal of claims by a Muslim inmate in federal custody that his free exercise and equal protection rights were infringed. Plaintiff complained that the meals offered Muslim prisoners do not contain Halal meat, but instead are either merely pork-free, or are vegetarian and fish.
In Copeland v. Livingston, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69564 (ED TX, June 30, 2009), a Texas federal magistrate judge recommended dismissing as frivolous a lawsuit raising a variety of free exercise and RLUIPA claims by a Muslim prisoner. Among other things, plaintiff complained about disruption of a Muslim service by correctional officers, disciplinary action against him that denied him the right to attend Muslim services, requiring Muslim services to be held in a Christian chapel, the prison's refusal to allow minimum custody and medium custody prisoners to have joint religious services, failure to provide cleaning services for inmates' prayer rugs, and monitoring of Muslim services by recording them.
In Shields v. Skipper, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69885 (D OR, Aug. 7, 2009), an Oregon federal district court rejected a claim by a former inmate that his free exercise rights and his rights under RLUIPA were infringed when he was denied access to a Native American religious clergyman.
In Harris v. Schriro, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70180 (D AZ, Aug. 11, 2009), an Arizona federal district court dismissed a former inmate's challenge to the Arizona Department of Corrections kosher food policy. The court held that Plaintiff cannot bring individual or official-capacity damage claims under RLUIPA and the claims for injunctive relief are moot. It also rejected plaintiff's free exercise claims under which he sought modification of the kosher diet policy to require serving kosher food in its original package and serving uncut vegetables that have not been touched by prison staff. (See prior related posting.)
In Jacobs v. Strickland, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70563 (SD OH, Aug. 11, 2009), an Ohio federal district court accepted a magistrate's recommendations and dismissed an inmate's claim that his rights as a Sunni Muslim had been violated at the former institution in which he had been housed. It held that damages are not available in official capacity RLUIPA suits. It also agreed with the magistrate that defendants had qualified immunity and that there was no allegation of involvement of the defendants in the alleged unlawful conduct. Finally it concluded that plaintiff's claim for an injunction and declaratory relief are moot.
In Vigil v. Jones, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70749 (D CO, Aug. 4, 2009), a Colorado federal magistrate judge ordered a pro se plaintiff inmate who had broadly alleged interference with free exercise of his Judaeo-Christianity to file an amended complaint suing the proper parties and alleging specific facts.
In Jordan v. Keim, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70881 (SD IL, Aug. 7, 2009), an Illinois federal district court rejected a free exercise and religious discrimination claim by a Hebrew Israelite prisoner. Prison authorities in 2002 denied his request to participate in the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. The prison chaplain erroneously ruled that plaintiff's request to participate was late because the chaplain had the wrong date for the beginning of the festival. The court held that the advance notice rule to apply for special holiday observances was permissible and that that there was no discriminatory intent involved in rejecting plaintiff's application as late.
In Willard v. Hobbs, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71244 (ED AR, July 23, 2009), an Arkansas federal magistrate judge recommended rejecting a challenge under the equal protection clause, the free exercise clause and RLUIPA by a Wiccan inmate in maximum security who complained that he was denied sea salt, an altar cloth, a ritual feather, essential oils, a ritual bell, and a special notebook or binder for creating a "Book of Shadows."
In Young v. McNeil, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70885 (ND FL, June 11, 2009), a Florida federal magistrate judge recommended rejecting an inmate's free exercise, 8th amendment and equal protection challenges to Florida Department of Corrections' total elimination of its Jewish Dietary Accommodation Program, requiring inmates who observe kosher restrictions to instead choose vegetarian or vegan meals. The opinion concluded that the state had shown legitimate budgetary, logistical and security concerns, as well as concerns over appearing to favor certain classes of inmates. Jewish inmates had alternative meal plans available that lessened the impact on their religious observance. (See prior related posting.)
In Majid v. Fischer, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71616 (SD NY, July 31, 2009), a New York federal district court rejected inmates' free exercise, RLUIPA and equal protection claims objecting to the type of meals served to Muslim prisoners and failure to provide separate utensils. The court similarly rejected complaints regarding the closure of a portion of a mosque at New York's Green Haven Correctional Facility.
AP last week reported on a settlement in a case brought by a former Muslim prisoner against federal prison officials in Illinois charging that guards had placed his Quran on a spit-stained floor and had mistreated him when he complained to authorities. Former inmate Hakeem Shaheed, who spent nine years in federal prison, received $48,000 in the settlement.