Searles v. Dechant.

• Position: Violation of religious freedom right - Brief Article

U.S. Appeals Court

WORK

Searles v. Dechant, 393 F.3d 1126 (10th Cir. 2004). An inmate brought a [section] 1983 action against prison officials, alleging they violated his religious freedom by requiring him to work in a prison kitchen where he could not avoid the ingestion of non-kosher odors and handling non-kosher food. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the officials and the inmate appealed. The appeals court dismissed in part and affirmed in part. The court held that the inmate made an insufficient showing that the infringement on his rights outweighed legitimate penological interests. The court found that budgetary concerns and the need for nondiscriminatory and consistent prison staffing appeared to be legitimate penological interests, even though the inmate had presented sufficient evidence of the sincerity of his beliefs. The Jewish...