Dale Hyde, a pro se plaintiff, brought suit against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on August 30, 1994, complaining that his religious group was not allowed to meet under the same circumstances as other religious groups at the prison where he was incarcerated. Hyde had previously filed a written complaint with the prison about restrictions on his religious practices as a Jehovah's Witness. On October 23, 1996, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas (Judge Lynn N. Hughes) held that the warden's rejection of Hyde's complaint at the highest level within the prison grievance procedure resulted in a personal loss of religious freedom to Hyde. Hyde v. Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice, 948 F.Supp. 625 (S.D.Tex. 1996). Judge Hughes ordered that Hyde be allowed to attend religious meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses on the same conditions as other similarly situated religious groups. Hyde's religious group was entitled to meet without an approved outside volunteer and in the same size group as other religious groups at the prison. Judge Hughes further ordered that Hyde receive ""time off"" of work for ten days as compensation for his problems with religious meetings. The case was closed on October 23, 1996. Subsequent motions to appeal and to amend the original claim dating to 2003 were dismissed.

Angela Heverling - 12/01/2005


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