On The Front Lines

Rutherford Institute Attorneys Protect Prisoner's Right to Worship Freely Under Religious Freedom Statute

U.S. District Court Grants Permanent Injunction Against California Dept. of Corrections

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--Citing the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California granted a permanent injunction against the California Dept. of Corrections on behalf of Ernest Fenelon, a Muslim prisoner who was denied the right to attend Islamic lunchtime prayer services known as Jumu'ah and retaliated against for seeking redress for the violations of his constitutional rights. RLUIPA, which was enacted in 2000, prohibits the government from placing a substantial burden on the religious exercise of prisoners without a compelling reason.

For at least a decade prior to Fenelon's conversion to Islam, CMF officials permitted Muslim inmates to attend Jumu'ah during their lunch hour without forcing them to use their earned time off or requiring authorized personnel to attend. In June 1998, CMF officials extended the reach of its policy concerning Jumu'ah attendance by threatening to sanction Fenelon with a "serious rules violation" for leaving class to attend Jumu'ah. In May 2000, after Rutherford Institute attorneys filed suit, the district court imposed a permanent injunction on the California Medical Facility (CMF) in Vacaville, Calif., holding that the denial of earned time off to prisoners attending Jumu'ah was unconstitutional. The injunction prohibited the prison from denying Muslim prisoners access to Jumu'ah services and from retaliating against them for filing suit. CMF officials continued to prevent Muslim inmates from attending their weekly services and allegedly took retaliatory action against those who objected to the prison's policies. In February 2002, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court's ruling on the grounds that it did not conform to the specific procedural findings required by the Federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. In October 2002, the trial court reinstated the injunction, concluding that the policy of the CMF officials was in violation of RLUIPA and allowing for the prisoners to attend Jumu'ah services without any negative impact on their credits or privileges. Last week's ruling made the order permanent.

"For over five years California prison officials have played cat and mouse with Ernest Fenelon's precious religious beliefs," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "Now, with the force of a federal civil rights statute brought to bear upon them by Rutherford Institute attorneys, they have finally been wrestled into allowing Fenelon simply to exercise the right to worship freely."

The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.

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