In DeMarco v. Bynum, (5th Cir., Oct. 4, 2022), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a suit brought by an inmate who contended that confiscation of his religious material violated his First Amendment rights. The court said in part:
DeMarco concedes that he did not store his religious materials as required by AD-03.72. And this court has previously indicated that TDCJ policies regarding storage of personal property do not infringe on a prisoner’s right to free exercise of religion....
Bynum’s confiscation of DeMarco’s religious materials was reasonably related to a legitimate penological objective.... There is also an alternative way for DeMarco to exercise his First Amendment rights, by accessing religious reading materials through the prison chaplain. The impact of accommodating DeMarco’s constitutional rights on other prisoners, guards, and prison resources could be great, given the management and safety concerns underlying the policy....
Moreover, even if Bynum had violated DeMarco’s constitutional rights, the district court correctly found that Bynum was entitled to qualified immunity because his actions were objectively reasonable.
