Merriweather v. Sherwood.

• Position: Violation of religious freedom - Brief Article

U.S. District Court

CONSENT DECREE-TERMINATION

PLRA -- Prison Litigation Reform Act

Merriweather v. Sherwood, 235 F.Supp.2d 339 (S.D.N.Y. 2002). Prison officials moved, under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), to dissolve a prison conditions consent decree entered 24 years earlier. Prisoners moved to postpone the automatic stay of the consent decree's provisions. The district court held that it lacked the discretion to

postpone the automatic stay once the stay came into effect 30 days after the motion to dissolve was filed. The court noted that even assuming it had the discretion to...