In Jones v. Slade, (9th Cir., Jan. 24, 2022), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment and held that there remains genuine issues of fact in connection with an Arizona prison's confiscation of six hip-hop music CD's and two Nation of Islam texts which plaintiff received by mail. The Court held that questions remain as to selective enforcement of prison rules as to the music CD's. It concluded that plaintiff's RLUIPA and Free Exercise claims relate to his religious practice of reading Nation of Islam texts authored by Elijah Muhammad during Ramadan. The court said in part:
RLUIPA defines “religious exercise” to include “any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief.” ... That means that RLUIPA protects not only practices deemed orthodox by some recognized religious organization, but also idiosyncratic practices—practices “not compelled by, or central, to a [given] system of religious belief.”
The court held that as to both plaintiff's RLUIPA claim and his 1st Amendment Free Exercise claim, "there is a genuine issue of fact as to whether denying Jones essential religious texts during Ramadan is a substantial burden on his religious exercise...." Tucson Sentinel reports on the decision.
