In Forter v. Young, (9th Cir., July 12, 2023), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected former prisoner Jeffrey Forter's complaints about the procedure used to deny his religious meal accommodation request. In seeking access to kosher meals, Forter cited a Bible verse. A response from a prison official disagreed with Forster's interpretation of the verse and cited an additional verse. Forster claimed that response violated the Establishment Clause. The court disagreed, saying in part:
[T]he Establishment Clause does not prevent religious references by state actors... and the prison official’s actions do not constitute an unconstitutional “official policy that ‘establishes a religion or religious faith, or tends to do so,’”
