Murphy v. Missouri Dept. of Corrections.

• Position: Prisoner alleges violation of first amendment rights - Brief Article

U.S. Appeals Court

OBSCENITY

Murphy v. Missouri Dept. of Corrections, 372 F.3d 979 (8th Cir. 2004). A prisoner brought an action under [section] 1983 and under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), alleging that he was improperly denied privileges that were given to other religious groups, including communal worship, religions funding and institutional TV air time for religious videos. The group held as a central tenet the belief that its members must all be Caucasian because they were uniquely blessed by God and must separate themselves from all non-Caucasian persons. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants and the prisoner appealed. The appeals court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. The court held that the defendants did not violate the prisoner's First Amendment free-exercise rights when they refused to grant his religious group the accommodation of group worship...