Lindell v. Casperson.

• Position: Violation of Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000

U.S. District Court

EQUAL PROTECTION

DIET

PUBLICATIONS

SINCERITY

RLUIPA -- Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act

Lindell v. Casperson, 360 F.Supp.2d 932 (W.D. Wis. 2005). An inmate brought an action against correctional officials and employees alleging violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendment, and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants in part, and denied it in part. The court found that officials did not substantially burden the inmate's sincere religious beliefs in violation of RLUIPA by refusing to accommodate his requests for the group practice of Wotanism, a special diet, and possession of religious ceremonial items. The court concluded that the "idiosyncratic and inconsistent nature of the inmate's various requests" showed that the requests were not based in sincere religious beliefs. According to the court, officials did not violate the inmate's rights under the free exercise clause and RLUIPA by prohibiting his possession of Wotanist books that promoted Aryan supremacy and contained...