On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Lauds U.S. Supreme Court's Affirmation of Religious Rights of Prisoners
WASHINGTON, DC-- In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), a federal statute that requires state prisons receiving federal funds to accommodate inmates' religious practices unless they have a compelling interest against the accommodation. Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Jon B. Cutter, et al. v. Reginald Wilkinson, et al., one of three cases before the High Court that challenged the constitutionality of RLUIPA. In requesting that the Supreme Court uphold RLUIPA, Rutherford Institute attorneys asked the justices to overturn the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that RLUIPA holds a "message of endorsement," which "has the effect of encouraging prisoners to become religious in order to enjoy greater rights" and thereby violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In today's decision, the Supreme Court found that the law is not an unconstitutional government promotion of religion. "It confers no privileged status on any particular religious sect and singles out no bona fide faith for disadvantageous treatment," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote. The opinion is available online here."It is vital that those who are incarcerated and otherwise restricted in their freedoms possess the ability to practice their religious beliefs," said John W. Whitehead, president and founder of The Rutherford Institute. "It is commendable that the U.S. Supreme Court has seen fit to protect the religious beliefs of prisoners."
In all three cases, Ohio prisoners challenged state prison regulations that denied them access to religious literature and the opportunity to conduct religious services. Arguing in support of RLUIPA's constitutionality and the need to protect the religious rights of prisoners, Institute attorneys pointed out that even in colonial days, legislative bodies in the United States recognized the special need for the protection of religious exercise. Prisoners, for example, were no exception to this protection. Though sometimes jailed for the very beliefs they sought to propagate, preachers were permitted to practice their religious beliefs behind bars. In RLUIPA, the Congress of the United States has affirmed the importance of these rights by granting prisoners a procedural remedy to protect religious liberties from infringement based on the whims and personal fancies of correctional personnel. In doing so, Institute attorneys reason that Congress is advancing the general welfare of prisoners, insuring that congressionally appropriated funds are not used to deny protected liberties, and safeguarding for all citizens the interest of religious freedom that the Framers identified as special in the First Amendment. A copy of the Institute's brief is available here.
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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