On October 20, 2010, a Muslim inmate confined to the Federal Correctional Institution in Minersville, Pennsylvania, filed a lawsuit in the the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act against the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The plaintiff, represented by counsel from the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project and private counsel, asked the court for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, and monetary damages, claiming that his right to free exercise of religion was violated. Specifically, the plaintiff claimed that the prison's policy, which only allowed Muslim to pray in the chapel or their individual cells, precluded the plaintiff from praying while he was at work or recreation.

On October 12, 2011, Judge William W. Caldwell denied the defendants' motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, summary judgment. Judge Caldwell held that the record contained sufficient evidence to lead a reasonable finder of fact to conclude that the defendants substantially burdened the plaintiff's exercise of his religion and that the plaintiff's evidence was sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the plaintiff and other Muslim inmates were treated differently from similarly situated inmates with other religious beliefs.

On May 10, 2013, the parties agreed to a compromise, settlement and release of both the Religious Freedom Restoration Act claim and the equal protection claim. The defendants agreed to a policy that allowed Muslims to pray at work and recreation at the times required by Islam with adequate floor covering. The defendants also agreed to pay $150,000 in full satisfaction of all claims, demands and rights to attorney's fees, costs, and expenses. On June 3, 2013, Judge Caldwell dismissed the case.

Jessica Kincaid - 07/07/2014


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