On December 1, 1994, an inmate at the Rikers Island Correctional Facility in New York filed a lawsuit under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000b, against the New York State Department of Corrections in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The ...
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On December 1, 1994, an inmate at the Rikers Island Correctional Facility in New York filed a lawsuit under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000b, against the New York State Department of Corrections in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiff, an Orthodox Hasidic Jew, alleged that his constitutional rights had been violated by the prison system's regulations regarding the removal of facial hair, which were in contention with his religious beliefs.
On January 9, 1995, the parties settled the case, and the state agreed not to force the prisoner to remove his facial hair and not to discipline the inmate for refusing to shave. The plaintiff asked the court to award him attorneys fees. On May 19, 1995, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Judge Harold Baer, Jr.) granted the motion for attorneys fees in the amount of $55,540.36 and closed the case. Helbrans v. Coombe, 890 F.Supp. 227 (S.D.N.Y. 1995).
Kristen Sagar - 10/31/2006
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