38. Rules & regulations-prisoner.

U.S. Appeals Court

BOOKS RELIGION

Neal v. Lewis, 414 F.3d 1244 (10th Cir. 2005). A Shiite Muslim prisoner filed a pro se action seeking injunctive relief and damages under [section] 1983, alleging that prison officials violated his civil rights by interfering with his religious observance. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants and the prisoner appealed. The appeals court affirmed. The court held that the officials did not violate the prisoner's First Amendment rights by enforcing a prison regulation that limited the number of books that could be kept in a cell. The court also found no violation of the prisoner's due process or equal protection rights. The regulation limited prisoners to the possession of twelve books, plus one dictionary, one thesaurus, and the primary religious text for their declared religion. The court noted that nothing prevented the prisoner from stocking his cell with twelve religious texts. According to the court, the regulation was applied equally to all inmates, and it promoted legitimate administrative and penological objectives including fire safety, institutional security, control of the source and flow of property in prison, and the effective establishment of a behavior-incentive program. The court noted that the prisoner failed to choose any of the options available to him. (El Dorado Correctional Facility, Kansas)

U.S. District Court

RELIGIOUS ARTICLES RELIGION

Rowe v. Davis, 373 F.Supp.2d 822 (N.D.Ind. 2005). A state inmate brought a pro se [section] 1983 action alleging that his rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) had been violated. The district court held that the...